Tessa Jowell Totally Explained

Everything about Tessa Jowell totally explained

Tessa Jowell (born 17 September 1947 in London) is a British politician. She is the Labour MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, and since 28 June 2007 has been Paymaster General and Minister for London.
She is also Minister for the Olympics, a role which she initially combined with being Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport following the selection of London to host the 2012 Olympic Games. She was demoted in June 2007 when Tony Blair resigned as Prime Minister to be succeeded by Gordon Brown. This resulted in her losing her department, much of her ministerial brief, and her right to automatically sit in the Cabinet.

Early life

Born Tessa Jane Helen Douglas Palmer, she was educated at the independent St. Margaret's School in Aberdeen, the University of Aberdeen, the University of Edinburgh and Goldsmiths College, University of London. She became a psychiatric social worker and eventually assistant director of the mental health charity Mind. In 1978 she was Labour Party candidate in a by-election in Ilford North but lost Labour's marginal majority to the Conservatives.

Member of Parliament

Elected as MP for Dulwich at the 1992 general election, she was successively appointed as an opposition spokesperson on health, an opposition whip and spokesperson on women before returning to the shadow health team in 1996.

In government

Jowell was appointed as Minister of State in the Department of Health after the 1997 Labour electoral landslide. She moved, again as Minister of State, to the Department for Education and Employment in 1999. Jowell was appointed Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport after the 2001 election, replacing the sacked Chris Smith. One of her main concerns as Culture Secretary was the future of television broadcasting. She blocked the BBC's original plans for the digital channel BBC3 on the grounds that they were insufficiently different from commercial offerings, and imposed extra conditions on BBC News 24 after it was criticised on the same grounds by the Lambert Report. She was also responsible for the Communications Act 2003 which established a new media regulator, OFCOM. It also relaxed regulations on ownership of UK television stations, though a "public interest" test was introduced as a compromise after a rebellion in the House of Lords. In 2004, Jowell faced resistance to proposals for a series of Las Vegas style casinos. Jowell has also had to deal with complaints that the National Lottery has been directed to fund programmes that should be covered by mainstream taxation. Jowell oversaw a restructuring of the Arts funding system but lost out in the 2004/5 spending round resulting in a cut in her departmental budget and the loss of tax credits for UK Film production.
Jowell was a strong supporter of the then Prime Minister, reportedly saying on one occasion that she'd "Jump under a bus" for him. In the cabinet reshuffle following the 2005 Election it was predicted that Jowell would be promoted to one of the larger spending departments such as Health Secretary where she'd previously been a minister - but she remained at the DCMS. The timing of the IOC decision on the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games which was due to be made just two months later, on July 6 2005, may have been a factor.
In Gordon Brown's reshuffle in June 2007 following his succession as Prime Minister, Jowell was demoted from her position as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. She retained her Olympics portfolio and was also appointed Paymaster-General and Minister for London. She is no longer officially a member of the Cabinet, although she does attend.

Voting record

How Tessa Jowell voted on key issues since 2001 (They Work For You

Voted against a transparent Parliament.
Voted for introducing a smoking ban.
Voted for introducing ID cards.
Voted for introducing foundation hospitals.
Voted for introducing student top-up fees.
Voted for Labour's anti-terrorism laws.
Voted for the Iraq war.
Voted against investigating the Iraq war.
Voted for replacing Trident.
Voted for the hunting ban.
Voted for equal gay rights.

Personal life

Jowell's first marriage was to fellow Camden councillor Roger Jowell. This was dissolved in 1976. She continues to use his surname. Roger Jowell co-founded and directed Social & Community Planning Research (SCPR), now the National Centre for Social Research, known for its British Social Attitudes Surveys.
Jowell's second marriage, in 1979, was to international corporate lawyer David Mills. They separated after controversy surrounding Mr Mills' business dealings in Italy (see below) began to damage Jowell's political reputation. During the break up, Jowell was criticised by feminists when she indicated that she wasn't implicated in her husband's finances as she left the mortgage paperwork up to Mills.

Controversy and "Jowellgate"

David Mills has acted for Silvio Berlusconi, once Italian Prime Minister. This has been a cause of controversy, as Mills is being investigated in Italy for money laundering and alleged tax fraud. Jowell was investigated by the Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell over the allegations surrounding her husband because of a potential clash of interest between her personal life and ministerial duties. However, Sir Gus stated that "it is the Prime Minister, not me, who, constitutionally, is the right and proper person to take a view on matters arising based on the Ministerial Code" in his letter, and Tony Blair decided she was clear of any wrongdoing.
   On 4 March 2006, it was announced that Jowell and Mills separated after the allegations began to damage Jowell's political reputation. Their professed hopes to "restore their relationship over time" rather than seek divorce have caused some to regard this as merely a politically expedient gesture. David Mills had admitted to being an "idiot" and has expressed his remorse about the impact of his dealings upon Tessa Jowell.
   The affair has been termed "Jowellgate" by parts of the press.
   Jowell is no stranger to controversy. In 2003, she received unfavourable tabloid press coverage when her departmental "Christmas" cards avoided any reference to the Christmas story. More recently (2006), she's been heavily criticised for likely cost over-runs on the London Olympics project, which came under the umbrella of her former department. . Jowell was among a number of ministers accused of hypocrisy for opposing Post Office closures in their own constituencies while supporting the Government's closure strategy at the national level

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