Paul Blomfield MP: representing Sheffield Central 2010–2024

Just three weeks ago we elected 650 people to the House of Commons as members of parliament. But who wants to be a deputy today? As a group, MPs are not well liked by the British public. A number of surveys reveal that public MPs, along with estate agents and journalists, are among them the least trusted of all occupational groups. And certain events, such as the MPs’ expenses scandal, the Brexit debates in the House of Commons and the ‘Partygate’ revelations, have only confirmed and fueled critical public attitudes.

A hostile environment for MPs and a demanding role

Parliamentarians work in an increasingly hostile environment. In recent years, two MPs have been killed, others attacked while carrying out their constituency duties, and others have faced constant death threats and abuse. They are the victims of intrusive, aggressive and personalized attacks on social networks; this is especially the case for women MPs.

On the one hand, MPs face considerable public vilification and, on the other hand, the skills required to carry out their work are considerable. Today, parliamentarians have to deal with a more complex set of socio-economic and political demands than in the past. Social cleavages and fault lines have changed, and class is now only one of many basic distinctions; gender, age, education and ethnicity are now more significant than in previous periods. Combine this with the rapid growth of information technology and artificial intelligence, and the competence and skills required of an MP are vast.

Against this background of public dislike of MPs and the increasing complexity of public life, the parliamentary career of Paul Blomfield, Labor MP for Sheffield Central for 14 years between 2010 and 2024, is worth considering.

Sheffield Central: A return to solid work under Blomfield

The Sheffield Central constituency was created in 1983 and in the 41 years since its creation has been represented by just two MPs – firstly Richard Caborn from 1983 to 2010 and then Blomfield. Caborn was a very capable, hard-working local politician and a minister in the Blair governments, but nevertheless the general decline in the Labor vote in all his traditional working-class constituencies was reflected in Sheffield Central, where, in four general elections between 1992 and 2005, the party’s vote share fell by 19%.

By the time Caborn retired, Sheffield Central had become a target seat for the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrat candidate in the central constituency was the famous Paul Scriven, who, since 2008, had been leader of Sheffield City Council. He was extremely confident that he would join his colleague, his party neighbor from the next constituency (Sheffield Hallam), Nick Clegg, in the House of Commons.

Labor’s task of retaining the central constituency in 2010 was difficult. Blomfield himself was 58 years old and had no record of previous electoral contests or time serving as a city councillor, but he had extensive contacts in Sheffield. However, after several recounts, Blomfield was able to win by a majority of just 165.

Central was Labour’s fourth most marginal constituency in the country. But from this extremely marginal position, Labour’s share of the vote in the constituency increased significantly in the 2015 and 2017 general elections, and by 2019, Blomfield’s majority was 27,273.

Labor vote boosted by socio-economic change and Blomfield’s assiduity

The explanation for this very large increase in the Labor vote in Central during Blomfield’s tenure as MP is not straightforward. In part, it reflects the changing socio-economic makeup of the constituency, particularly the age composition and educational profile of voters.

When it was created in 1983, Sheffield Central was a traditional, inner-city, working-class constituency, with 57% of its adult population in manual occupations and 86% white. However, a significant increase in the number of young voters in this part of Sheffield, resulting from the expansion of the city’s two universities and a change in the ethnic composition of the local population, has helped to change the socio-economic profile of the constituency. The 2021 census records a core population that is young (55% aged 16-34), well-educated (43% with a tertiary qualification), living in rented accommodation (62%) and a significant Asian cluster ( 17%).

However, Blomfield’s personal role as an assiduous and active representative of his constituents should not be underestimated (it is worth noting that the increase in the Labor vote over the four general elections 2010-2019 was greater in Central than in the other constituencies Sheffield).

The ‘big conversation’: Blomfield’s active engagement with constituents

Blomfield fulfilled his constituency role by initiating the ‘Great Conversation’. Launched in 2011, Blomfield ran a three-week listening exercise with its constituents each autumn through well-advertised meetings and conversations in local cafes, pubs and community halls.

What is significant is that these meetings were very often sponsored not by the Labor Party, but by local organizations involved in business, social care, mental health, the third and middle sectors, or with youth and ethnic groups. They therefore involved people beyond the usual political party networks.

So, to take four examples from these great conversation exercises, there were

• In 2017: 40 public meetings involving 1,057 people;
• In 2018: 40 public meetings involving 1,375 people;
• In 2019: 37 public meetings involving 968 people;
• In 2020 (by then Covid restrictions were introduced): 11 public meetings involving 584 people.

At the end of each three-week exercise, Blomfield published an initial report outlining the issues raised in these conversations, then followed up with a report six months later detailing the actions he had taken on many of these issues.

Clearly, MPs of all political parties engage in consultation with their constituents in different ways, but Blomfield’s large-scale ‘Big Conversation’ exercise would appear to be unique. A comparative search reveals no other MP who engages in such extensive annual discussion with constituents.

A strategic opposition MP

Throughout his 14 years as an MP, apart from a four-year period between 2016 and 2020 when he was a member of the Labor cabinet team monitoring Britain’s exit from the European Union, Blomfield has been an opposition backbencher. According to the House of Commons database, during his time as an MP, Blomfield made 761 spoken contributions, submitted 1,691 written questions and signed 751 motions to begin.

To make a significant political impact as an opposition advocate, Blomfield quickly understood the need to build strategic coalitions across party lines, use a range of intra- and inter-parliamentary pressure points and exploit the power of storytelling or narratives to bring issues to life and put them on the political agenda.

A very good example of the latter is Blomfield’s use of his personal experience to raise the issue of assisted dying. When Sky News presenter Sophy Ridge was asked “Which interview are you particularly proud of?” she replied: “Paul Blomfield spoke about assisted dying because his father took his own life when he was terminally ill.”

An impactful contributor to government policy

Working across the party and political divide, particularly by building alliances through the all-party parliamentary groups and taking major officer roles in many of these groups, Blomfield made a significant contribution to government policy.

On a wide range of domestic issues, from the provision of mental health facilities and programs for both young and old, the welfare of young and adult carers, support for women’s charities and services for migrants, he was able to influence policy outcomes. He helped end delays in terminally ill benefit payments, secure a legal requirement for universities to facilitate student voter registration, and allow access to student loans for Syrian refugees.

And in three areas where Blomfield was very closely involved – the exploitation of people who needed to borrow money, the restrictions on international student visas and the harm done to people by gambling – his impact was significant.

Thorough and genuine work between parties

As an opposition representative, opportunities to have a significant impact on policy outcomes are limited. However, a staunch backbench opposition MP can, by building cross-party alliances, have some impact on government policies. It takes painstaking work, with sometimes reversals – as Blomfield experienced with international student visas – to achieve desired policy outcomes. However, progressive change is possible through hard work and cross-party collaboration.

Often the media portrayal of the House of Commons is the equivalent of a bear pit – loud, confrontational and with little room for reasoned discussion. But much of the day-to-day work there depends on an entirely different culture where differences in political values ​​and beliefs prevail, but genuine cross-party attempts are made to improve policy outcomes.

Paul Blomfield: a dedicated, energetic and much admired MP

As MP for Sheffield Central, Blomfield has shown extraordinary dedication and energy in representing his constituency. He has made extensive efforts to reach and listen to a wide range of people extending beyond the local Labor Party.

The qualities consistently referred to by interviewees were calm, obedient, confident enough to consult, meticulous, fair, reserved, well-trained and loyal. And finally, very hard work, which, given that very early in his time as an MP he underwent a major 13-hour operation to remove a brain tumour, is a testament to his courage and commitment.

Both the House of Commons and the people of Sheffield Central benefited from his 14 years as an MP.

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