Hazel Blears
A streetwise Labour MP from Salford who championed community activism and weathered political storms with a defiantly local focus.
Born 1956 (age 70)·British Labour politician·Birthday: May 14·Baby Boomers
Biography
Hazel Blears emerged from a council estate in Salford, a city whose gritty identity she would never shed. Trained as a solicitor, she entered Parliament in 1997, bringing a practitioner's eye to urban policy rather than an ideologue's manifesto. As a minister, she pushed a 'community empowerment' agenda, arguing that real change happened on housing estates and in neighborhood centers, not just in Whitehall. Her career faced a severe test during the 2009 parliamentary expenses scandal, where she became a focal point of public anger; she repaid money and fought to stay in her seat, displaying a characteristic pugnacity. After leaving Parliament in 2015, her work remained rooted in localism, focusing on social enterprise and the fabric of everyday civic life in the North of England.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Hazel was born in 1956, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Hazel Was Born
The biggest hits of 1956
#1 Movie
The Ten Commandments
Best Picture
Around the World in 80 Days
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Hazel's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1956Born
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1961Started school
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1969Became a teenager
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1972Could drive
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1974Could vote
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1977Turned 21
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1986Turned 30
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 40
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 50
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 60
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 70
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the Member of Parliament for Salford constituencies for 18 years, from 1997 to 2015.
- Appointed as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in 2008.
- Chaired the cross-party group on social enterprise, advocating for community-led business models.
- Served as Minister of State for Policing and Counter-Terrorism, overseeing significant security legislation.
Did You Know?
She is a trained tap dancer and once performed on the TV show 'Strictly Come Dancing' in a charity special.
Blears was the first in her family to attend university, studying law at Trent Polytechnic.
She famously resigned from the Cabinet in 2009, handing in her resignation letter on the day of a major local election defeat for Labour.
“Politics is about the people and the places they live, not just the policies we write.”
