Charles Clarke

MP, Norwich South

Charles Clarke read mathematics and economics at King's College, Cambridge, where he began his political career as President of the National Union of Students. He was a local councillor for the London borough of Hackney in the early 1980s, and worked as Chief of Staff for the then Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock throughout the decade. In the mid 1990s he took a break from political life, working as Chief Executive for the public affairs management consultancy Quality Public Affairs.

Clarke was elected as Member of Parliament for Norwich South in 1997 and held the seat until the 2010 general election where he narrowly lost to the Liberal Democrat candidate. He was appointed Secretary of State for Education and Skills in 2002, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for School Standards in 1998, Minister of State at the Home Office in 1999, and Minister without Portfolio and Labour Party Chair in 2001. He was appointed Home Secretary in December 2004, but lost his position after a poor Labour performance in the 2006 local council elections and is now a backbencher.