A former Redditch MP and Hagley school teacher has promised to champion universities following her surprise return to government. 

Baroness Jacqui Smith, who was the first British female Home Secretary, was MP for Redditch from 1997 to 2010 and previously taught at Haybridge.

She said her return to government following Labour's landslide win is a sign that "new opportunities arise throughout our lives" as she received her honorary doctorate from Birmingham City University (BCU) last Friday (July 26). 

As the new Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, Baroness Jacqui Smith also said she intends to champion the "enormous potential" of UK universities following recent concerns about their effectiveness.

She said: "Our universities are central to providing opportunity for students and growth of the economy.

"I want to work with universities like BCU and partners in the Higher and Further Education system to champion their enormous contribution and safeguard it for the future.

"These qualifications will provide graduates with the best possible springboard for the future."

Baroness Smith first became a government minister in 1999 and served in the education, health, industry and equality departments before being appointed Home Secretary in 2007.

She added: "My return shows that new opportunities arise throughout our lives and we need to be prepared for them."

Since then, she has spent time working on projects to promote democracy and development in parliaments at home and in countries such as Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon.

The former MP was chair of one of the largest NHS Trusts in England, University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB), from 2013 to 2021.

BCU has a close working relationship with UHB, which provides the university’s nursing, midwifery and allied healthcare professional students with valuable work placements.

She said: "I’m proud to be receiving my award alongside students who will go on to work in the health system.

"Working with NHS Trusts has convinced me that motivated and skilled professionals are key for the future of the NHS."

On taking up her new government role, Baroness Smith has had to step down from previous roles including chairing Barts Health NHS Trust, Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust, Sandwell Children’s Trust and the Jo Cox Foundation.