Welcome to the latest episode of The South West Agenda!
Tim is joined for this one by Sir Ben Bradshaw, former Labour Cabinet Minister and MP for Exeter.
In this first part, Sir Ben begins by discussing his life and career before Parliament.
This included growing up in Norfolk, working for the Exeter Express and Echo and BBC Radio Devon before graduating to become on the BBC’s top reporters. In 1993 Sir Ben won a Sony Radio Reporter of the Year Award for his coverage from Berlin.
He then discusses the chance meeting that led to him standing to become a Member of Parliament and the controversial 1997 election race as he aimed to become the one of the first openly gay MPs, facing homophobia from his opponents.
We then cover his years as a Minister under Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
Sir Ben was a Foreign Office Minister during 9/11 before moving to Defra where he spent four years. Gordon Brown then promoted him to Health Minister and Minister for the South West before another promotion to Culture Secretary in 2010.
Sir Ben was very much Blair and Brown’s go-to minister for the morning and evening media rounds, including around the controversial Iraq War and Hutton Inquiry.
He gives a brilliant answer to the question of how a minister should prepare for such interviews and fend off the likes of Jeremy Paxman, John Humphrys and Nick Robinson.
In part 1, we leave it in 2009.
Make sure to follow the podcast because in part 2, we later discuss:
What changes when you become a Cabinet Minister
What might have been different if David Miliband had beaten Ed Miliband in the Labour Leadership election
How the South West can better punch its weight and make the best of devolution
The Brexit and Corbyn years
Stepping down
His achievements as Exeter MP
Sir Keir Starmer & Andy Burnham
The future
&
The Sicilian olive harvest!
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