Hazel Blears
Hazel Anne Blears (born May 14, 1956) is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles since 2010 and was previously the MP for Salford since 1997. She served in the Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio and Labour Chair between 2006 and 2007, and Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2007 to 2009, when she resigned.
Political Career
Hazel Blears contested two seats before she was elected as the Member of Parliament for Salford in 1997 and then Salford and Eccles in 2010. She has held a number of high positions during Labour's time in Government. Between 2003 and 2006 Hazel Blears was Police and Counter Terrorism Minister and helped secure the return of the bobby on the beat by introducing a system of neighbourhood policing, which brought police and communities closer together. This period also saw her deal with the aftermath of one of the country’s largest terrorist outrages in the 7/7 and 21/7 bombings on the London Underground. She was responsible for the formulation of new counter terrorism legislation, steering it through Parliament and building relationships with the Muslim community. From 2007 – 2009, she was Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and was responsible for formulating policy and legislation to meet the needs of a changing society.
Education
Hazel Blears attended Wardley Grammar School in Swinton and Eccles Sixth Form College. She went to Trent Polytechnic in Nottingham (now known as Nottingham Trent University), graduating with a BA (Hons) degree in Law, and later, the Chester College of Law in 1977.
