Cunningham, John A (‘Jack’) (1939– )

British Labour politician, secretary of state for agriculture 1997–98, minister for the cabinet office and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1998. He was arguably the most experienced member of Tony Blair's first cabinet, having served as parliamentary private secretary to James Callaghan 1972–76 and parliamentary under-secretary for energy 1976–79. He was elected to the Labour shadow cabinet in 1983 and afterwards shadowed environment 1983–89, the leader of the House of Commons 1989–92, foreign and Commonwealth affairs 1992–94, trade and industry 1994–95, and national heritage 1995–97.

Born in Jarrow, he studied at Bede College, Durham University. He was a research fellow at Durham 1966–68 before deciding to abandon an academic career to become a full-time officer for the General and Municipal Workers' Union (GMWU). This led him into politics. He represented Whitehaven 1970–83 and Copeland from 1983 in the House of Commons. He was promoted in the July 1998 cabinet re-shuffle to minister of state for the cabinet office and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, with the task of ‘ensuring that the prime minister's objectives are delivered’.