Jack Straw Keynote Speaker

Former Labour Home, Justice and Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons
Regarded as "the decent man of politics" (The Sunday Times)
Best-selling author, "Last Man Standing" (2012)

Jack Straw's Biography

After three decades in Parliament and successive Cabinet positions, Jack Straw is one of the most experienced and insightful British and international political figures.

Jack has been Labour MP for Blackburn since 1979 and is a former Home Secretary (1997-2001), Foreign Secretary (2001-06), and Lord High Chancellor and Justice Secretary (2007-10).

During his time as Foreign Secretary, Jack played a leading role in the dramatic foreign policy problems arising from the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and then the interventions in Afghanistan and then Iraq. He also was closely involved with many top European decisions such as the negotiation of the EU Budget deal in 2005 and all the strategic EU economic issues associated with it.

His autobiography “Last Man Standing: Memoirs of a Political Survivor” (Macmillan, 2012) was a best-seller, and was described by the Guardian as “a tour de force through the fluctuating fortunes of the labour party from the mid-1960s to the 2010 election defeat.”