Ben Bradshaw is a politician in Britain. Since 1997, he has been the Member of Parliament for Exeter. He is a member of the Labour Party and has also been Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport and Minister of State for Health. Bradshaw was a journalist before he ran for office. He worked for BBC Radio Devon for a few years before being named the BBC’s Berlin correspondent. His work as a journalist sparked a strong interest in politics, which led him to run as a Labour Party candidate for the narrow parliamentary seat of Exeter in the 1997 general election. He won the election after a bitter campaign against Adrian Rogers, who was running for the Conservatives. He was a well-liked politician, and after a few years he became the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government. Over time, he became more well-known in the Labour Party, and he was eventually made Minister of State in the Department of Health and Minister for the South West portfolio. He is openly gay and works hard to make sure that lesbian, gay, and bisexual people have the same rights as everyone else.
Childhood and Adolescence
Ben Bradshaw was born in London, England, on August 30, 1960, to Peter Bradshaw, a former Anglican priest of Norwich Cathedral, and his wife Daphne Bradshaw.
He attended Thorpe Grammar School for his basic schooling and then went on to the University of Sussex to study German following graduation. He also studied at the University of Freiburg in Germany as an undergraduate.
Ben Bradshaw’s Career
He began teaching English at the Technikum, a technical school in Winterthur, Switzerland, between 1982 and 1983, after completing his studies.
In 1984, he got a job as a reporter with the ‘Exeter Express and Echo,’ ending his teaching career. He became a correspondent for the ‘Eastern Daily Press in Norwich the following year.
When he joined the team of BBC Radio Devon in 1986, his career took off. In 1989, he was chosen as the Berlin reporter for BBC Radio after three years. In this capacity, he observed one of the city’s most significant events: the fall of the Berlin Wall.
With the BBC, he had a lot of success and developed a reputation as a high-profile journalist. In 1991, he joined BBC Radio’s ‘The World At One’ as a reporter. By the early 1990s, he had developed a strong interest in politics and was seriously considering entering politics.
In the 1997 general election, he ran as a Labour Party candidate for the marginal parliamentary seat of Exeter. He ran against Conservative candidate Adrian Rogers, a prominent religious right figure. Because Bradshaw is openly gay, the election campaign between the two men grew nasty, with Rogers accusing Bradshaw of “sin.”
Bradshaw was elected as the Labour MP for Exeter with a majority of 11,705 votes. On July 4, 1997, he gave his first speech in the House of Commons.
In the year 2000, he was appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Denham, Minister of State for Health. Under Prime Minister Tony Blair’s administration, he became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office the following year.
Bradshaw became the Deputy to House of Commons Leader Robin Cook in 2002, and from 2003 to 2006, he worked as an Under Secretary of State in the Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs.
He was appointed Minister of State in the Department of Health in 2007 and was given the portfolio of Minister for the South West. He has had his share of controversies while serving as Minister of Health while being a popular politician. His remark that individuals should consult a general practitioner if there are no dentists available provoked heated arguments.
In 2009, he was named Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, a position he held until the general election in the United Kingdom in 2010. He then became Shadow Culture Secretary until the 2010 Labour Party (UK) Shadow Cabinet election.
In 2015, he ran for the Labour Party deputy leadership but came in last.
Ben’s Major Projects
He is well-liked as an openly gay politician who stands for equality for lesbians, gays, and bisexuals. In 2013, he voted in favor of same-sex marriage in the House of Commons Second Reading vote.
Achievements and Awards
In 1993, Ben Bradshaw won the Sony News Reporter Award.
In 2009, he received the Stonewall Politician of the Year Award for his efforts to promote equality for lesbians, gays, and bisexuals. In the same year, he was sworn in as a member of the United Kingdom’s Privy Council.
He is a member of the Advisory Council of the Henry Jackson Society.
Personal History and Legacy
In June 2006, he and his BBC producer partner, Neal Dalgleish, became one of the first MPs to register a civil partnership.
Ben Bradshaw is devoted to his family. His nephews, nieces, and godchildren are close to him.
Estimated Not worth
Ben Bradshaw is on the list of the most popular and wealthiest politicians. Based on what we’ve found on Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, Ben Bradshaw’s net worth is about $1.5 million.