Hazel Blears is the Labour MP for Salford and Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Previously Hazel has held the position of Labour Party Chair and Minister without portfolio at the Cabinet Office.

She was born and brought up in Salford, having gone to school at Wardley Grammar and then on to Eccles Sixth Form College.

After studying law at Nottingham Trent University and Chester College of Law, Hazel began a career as a solicitor while becoming a councillor in the north-west and chair of the Salford Community Health Council.

She was elected to Parliament in 1997 and worked as a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department of Health.

Hazel has also held the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health, Minister for Public Health and Minister of State responsible for crime reduction, policing and community safety at the Home Office.

A keen supporter of the Salford Reds rugby league side, Hazel is also the author of a number of pamphlets including Communities in Control and The Politics of Decency

She is married and lives in Salford.