Jacqui Smith – A political career
By Jonathan Moore
In June 2007, Gordon Brown made history when he appointed Jacqui Smith as the first female home secretary.
Since that time she’s been at the forefront of a lot of controversial measures, not to mention a number of major scandals which have consistently threatened to end her tenure.
Following the news today she will step down from her position in the next cabinet reshuffle politics.co.uk looks back at the highs and lows of her political career.
1995:
She is selected as the Labour candidate for Redditch from an all-woman list. In January 1996 all-woman lists are ruled illegal on the grounds of sexual discrimination but those already selected are allowed to stand.
May 1997:
She is elected MP for Redditch with a majority of 6,125. As part of the record intake of female MPs she is one of the so-called ‘Blair Babes’.
July 1999:
She first entered government as the parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE), working with school standards minister Estelle Morris.
June 2001:
She is returned as the MP for Redditch with a reduced majority of 2,484. Following the election she is promoted in government to the minister of state at the Department of Health (DoH).
June 2003:
Following a cabinet reshuffle she is moved to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as a minister. In this role she drafted the government’s proposals for civil partnerships.
May 2005:
She is re-elected as MP for Redditch with a majority of 2,176. She is promoted to minister for schools in the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) under Ruth Kelly, in a role which won her considerable praise.
May 2006:
Following another reshuffle she is named as the Labour party’s chief whip in parliament. At a time when tensions between Gordon Brown and Tony Blair are at their most strained she is seen as a calming influence often making peace between the warring factions.
June 2007:
As Brown succeeds Blair as prime minister he historically names Jacqui Smith as his home secretary, the first woman to ever hold the role. She succeeds John Reid, who famously said the Home Office was “not fit for purpose”.
In the days following her appointment she had to deal with car bombs found in London and the failed terrorist attack on Glasgow airport.
January 2008:
She announces sweeping changes to the police, including the controversial power to hold suspected terrorists for 42 days without charge.
She hits the headlines after admitting she wouldn’t feel safe walking through the streets of London alone at night, simultaneously claiming Labour had been successful in reducing crime in their 10 years in office.
May 2008:
Against the advice of her scientific advisers she reverses the government’s decision to downgrade cannabis to a class-C drug, returning it to its pre-2004 classification of class-B.
June 2008:
The controversial 42 days without charge legislation is passed through parliament, despite a rebellion by 36 Labour MP.
As a further part of her police reforms she informs the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) police will now be able to restrict or monitor photography in certain circumstances.
September 2008:
She unveils the design for the controversial ID cards scheme. Despite vehement opposition to both the infringement of civil liberties and the prohibitive cost of the project from all sides of the House of Commons and the media, she continued to push ahead with them throughout her tenure as home secretary.
October 2008:
The House of Lords overwhelmingly votes against the 42 days legislation.
November 2008:
Conservative MP Damien Green is arrested and his parliamentary office is searched by police without a warrant after Home Office leaks. Smith says she was unaware of the police action and should not have been aware.
She introduces legislation making it illegal for men to pay for sex with a woman under someone’s control.
February 2009:
The Mail on Sunday reports she has been claiming her second-home allowance for her family in home in Redditch, amounting to £116,000, while designating her primary residence as her sister’s London flat, which she stays in while on parliamentary business. This revelation is the forerunner to the MPs’ expenses scandal.
March 2009:
The Sunday Express reveals she claimed two adult films on parliamentary expenses. She blames her husband, who makes a sheepish public apology but there are repeated calls for her to resign.
April 2009:
As part of the Telegraph’s revelations on MPs’ expenses it is discovered she claimed £40 for a barbecue.
May 2009:
She publishes a list of 16 undesirable individuals banned from entering the UK which includes terrorists, racially-motivated murderers, fundamentalist preachers and American radio host Michael Savage. So appalled is he at being associated with these other people, Savage threatens to sue both her and the British government for defamation.
June 2009:
Ms Smith stands down as home secretary.
