What was the position of Alan Milburn from Dec 1998 to Oct 1999?
Alan Milburn Alan Milburn ( born 27 January 1958 ) is a British Labour politician who was Member of Parliament ( MP ) for Darlington from 1992 to 2010 . He served for five years in the Cabinet , first as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 1998 to 1999 , and subsequently as Secretary of State for Health until 2003 , when he resigned . He briefly rejoined the Cabinet as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in order to manage Labours 2005 re-election campaign . He did not seek re-election in the 2010 election . Milburn was Chair of the Social Mobility Commission from 2012 to 2017 . Since 2015 , he has been Chancellor of Lancaster University . Early life and career . Milburn was born in Birmingham , and brought up in the village of Tow Law in County Durham , England and Newcastle-upon-Tyne . He was educated at John Marlay School , Newcastle and Stokesley Comprehensive School . He went on to Lancaster University , where he resided at Pendle College and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with Upper Second Class Honours in History . After leaving university , he returned to Newcastle where , with Martin Spence , he operated a small radical bookshop in the Westgate Road , called Days of Hope ( the shop was given the spoonerised nickname Haze of Dope ) . He also studied for a PhD at Newcastle University , but did not complete his thesis . In 1981 he married future Labour MEP Mo OToole , but the couple split up in the late 1980s . Milburn was Co-ordinator of the Trade Union Studies Information Unit ( TUSIU ) from the mid-1980s onwards . From 1988 , Milburn co-ordinated a campaign to defend shipbuilding in Sunderland , and was elected as Chairman of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central Constituency Labour Party . In 1990 he was appointed as a Business Development Officer for North Tyneside Borough Council and elected as President of the North East Region of the Manufacturing Science and Finance ( MSF ) Trade Union . Meanwhile , he won the seat of Darlington in the 1992 general election . Member of Parliament . In Parliament , Milburn allied himself with the Blairite modernisers in the Labour Party , becoming close to Tony Blair who sat for the next-door constituency of Sedgefield . Later the political editor of the New Statesman wrote that Alan Milburn is regarded by most in Labour as the epitome of Blairite centrism and moderation . In government . In 1997 he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Health , an important post in which he had responsibility for driving through Private Finance Initiative deals on hospitals . In the reshuffle caused by Peter Mandelsons resignation on 23 December 1998 , Milburn was promoted to the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury . He became Secretary of State for Health in October 1999 , with responsibility for continuing the reduction in waiting times and delivering modernisation in the National Health Service ( NHS ) . In 2002 Milburn introduced NHS foundation trusts , described at the time as a sort of halfway house between the public and private sectors . The government increased expenditure on the NHS , although the public was sceptical over claims of improved performance . Milburn was thought to be a candidate for promotion within the Government , but on the day of a reshuffle ( 12 June 2003 ) he announced his resignation . He cited the difficulties combining family life in North-East England with a demanding job in London as his reason for quitting . While on the backbenches he continued to be a strong supporter of Tony Blairs policies , especially his continued policy of increased private involvement in public service provision . Following his resignation as Secretary of State for Health ( to spend more time with his family ) , Milburn took a post for £30,000 a year as an advisor to Bridgepoint Capital , a venture capital firm heavily involved in financing private health-care firms moving into the NHS , including Alliance Medical , Match Group , Medica and the Robinia Care Group . He returned to government in September 2004 , with the title of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster . He was brought back to lead the Labour Partys campaign in the 2005 general election , but the unsuccessful start to the campaign led to Milburn taking a back seat , with Gordon Brown returning to take a very prominent role . Backbenches . On election night in 2005 , he announced he would be leaving the Cabinet for a second time , although rumours persisted that he would challenge Gordon Brown for the succession . On 27 June 2007 , Brown subsequently assumed the prime ministerial role unopposed . On 8 September 2006 , after Tony Blair had announced his intention to step down within a year , Charles Clarke suggested Milburn as leader in place of Brown . On 28 February 2007 , he and Clarke launched The 2020 Vision , a website intended to promote policy debate in the Labour Party . He was the honorary president of the political organisation Progress , which was founded by Derek Draper . In 2007 , Milburn worked as an advisor to Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and again in 2010 acted as an advisor to the election campaign of Julia Gillard . Between January and July 2009 , Milburn chaired a governmental commission on social mobility , the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions . The Panel reported in July 2009 with recommendations to improve social mobility by acting at every life stage – including through schools , universities , internship practices and recruitment processes . In 2007 , Milburn became a paid advisor to PepsiCo and sat on its nutritional advisory board . By the time he stood down from parliament , Milburn had an income at least £115,000 a year from five companies . In June 2009 , he told his local party he would not be standing at the 2010 general election , saying : Standing down as an MP will give me the chance to balance my work and my family life with the time to pursue challenges other than politics . Later career . Despite the change of government following the May 2010 general election , it was reported in August 2010 that Milburn had been offered a role in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition as social mobility tsar . Although not officially politically-affiliated , the role would involve advising the government on how to break down social barriers for people from disadvantaged backgrounds , and help people who feel they are barred from top jobs on grounds of race , religion , gender or disability . Milburn provoked criticism from former Cabinet colleague John Prescott , and his former ally Andy Burnham , for advising the government . However , David Miliband defended Milburn claiming that he was serving the country and was not working for the Coalition Government . In 2011 , Milburn was asked by Andrew Lansley to chair the new clinical commissioning board , as part of the Coalition Governments health reforms but he rejected the offer labelling the reforms as privatization , cuts and a car crash . In 2011 , Milburn contributed to The Purple Book ( alongside other key figures in the Labour Party such as Ed Miliband , Peter Mandelson , Jacqui Smith , Liam Byrne , Tessa Jowell , Tristram Hunt , Stephen Twigg , Rachel Reeves and Liz Kendall ) . In the book , he called for the Labour Party to adopt a policy of educational credit , a system whereby lower and middle-income families whose children attend failing schools can withdraw their children and get funding , worth 150% the cost of education at the failing school , in order to pay for a place at a higher achieving school for the child , with the money coming from the budget of the failing school . The policy was rejected by the leftwing MP Michael Meacher but was welcomed by Labours Shadow Education Secretary Stephen Twigg and other shadow cabinet members . In 2012 , a senior Number 10 adviser called for Andrew Lansley to be taken out and shot for introducing the Health and Social Care bill despite widespread opposition , and that Alan Milburn should be ennobled and join the coalition government as Secretary of State for Health . This was rejected by David Cameron and it is understood that Milburn rejected such offer and remained in the Labour Party . He wrote in The Times attacking the reforms , but calling for the left to give an alternative . In July 2012 , Milburn was appointed as Chair of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission . He served until his resignation in December 2017 . In 2013 Milburn joined PricewaterhouseCoopers ( PwC ) as Chair of PwCs UK Health Industry Oversight Board , whose objective is to drive change in the health sector , and assist PwC in growing its presence in the health market . Milburn continued to be Chairman of the European Advisory Board at Bridgepoint Capital , whose activities include financing private health care companies providing services ito the NHS , and continued as a member of the Healthcare Advisory Panel at Lloyds Pharmacy . In 2015 , Milburn became Lancaster University’s third Chancellor , taking over from the mountaineer Chris Bonington . Early in 2015 , Milburn intervened in the British election campaign to criticise Labours health plans , which would limit private sector involvement in the NHS . Milburn was criticised for doing so while having a personal financial interest in the private health sector . In 2017 , Milburn was touted as a possible leader of a pro-EU movement after Brexit . External links . - Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle : Alan Milburn MP - TheyWorkForYou.com – Alan Milburn MP - Alan Milburn on BBC Ones This Week - Alan Milburn gives his career story on the non-profit website icould .