Ben Bradshaw has been MP for Exeter since winning the seat in the 1997 general election. In the 2010 General election Ben retained the seat for Labour, the first time a Labour MP has held Exeter without there being a majority Labour Government.

Before entering Parliament, Ben worked as a newspaper and radio journalist, starting his career in 1984 with Exeter’s local paper the Express & Echo. After a stint at a local newspaper in Norwich, Ben moved into radio journalism with a posting at BBC Radio Devon.

In 1989 he became the Berlin correspondent for BBC Radio and experienced one of the highlights of his career when he reported from the city on the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1991, he became a reporter with Radio 4’s The World At One.

In 1997, Ben was selected to contest the marginal seat of Exeter. He was elected as the MP for Exeter with 29,938 votes: a majority of 11,705 votes and a 12.5% swing to Labour.

After one Parliament on the back benches, Ben was made a Minister in the Foreign Office in 2001. He then held posts as Deputy Leader of the Commons and Environment Minister before joining the Health team in 2007.

Between June 2009 and May 2010, Ben was Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. He now very proudly speaks for Exeter in Parliament from the backbenches.

Ben is a member of the GMB, NUJ and Usdaw. His principal hobbies include hiking in Devon and Cornwall, going to the theatre, and spending time with his godchildren. Ben and his partner Neal have lived together for 12 years in Exeter and London, they celebrated their Civil Partnership in 2006.