Alan Milburn (born 27 January 1958) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Darlington from 1992 until 2010. He served for five years in the Cabinet, firstly as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 1998 to 1999, and subsequently as Secretary of State for Health until 2003, when he resigned, citing a lack of balance with his family life, before briefly rejoining it as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in order to manage Labour's 2005 re-election campaign. 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."

Milburn was born in the village of Tow Law in County Durham, England and grew up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

He was educated at John Marlay School, Newcastle and Stokesley Comprehensive School. He went on to Lancaster University. 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). From there he worked as a co-ordinator at the Trade Union Studies Information Unit. During this period, he married future Labour MEP Mo O'Toole, but the couple split up in the late 1980s.

Alan Shearer OBE, DL (born 13 August 1970) is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team. He is considered by some as one of England's best strikers, being both Newcastle's and the Premier League's record goalscorer. After retiring as a player in 2006, Shearer worked as a television pundit for the BBC. In 2009 he briefly left his BBC role to become Newcastle United's manager in the last eight games of their 2008–09 season, in an unsuccessful attempt to save them from relegation.

A native of Newcastle upon Tyne, Shearer made his professional debut with English top-flight club Southampton in 1988, scoring a hat-trick in the process. During several years on the south coast, he became known for his classic style of play, strength and goalscoring ability; he soon received an international call-up along with a transfer to Blackburn Rovers in 1992. Shearer established himself as a player in northern England; he became a regular in the England squad, and his 34-goal tally helped Blackburn secure the Premier League title in 1994–95. He was named Football Writers' Association Player of the Year in 1994 and won the PFA Player of the Year award in 1995. The 1995–96 season saw Shearer make his first Champions League appearances and finish as the top scorer in the Premier League with 31 goals. He was also top scorer at Euro 1996 with England, scoring five goals, and in the 1996–97 Premier League, with 25 goals. He scored 283 league goals in his career, including a record 260 in the Premier League, and a total of 422 in all competitions including international at all levels. Shearer has amassed a goals to game ratio of 0.667 throughout his career at every level.