[2] From 1953 to 1965 he served as a police officer, which (together with his hardline views on law and order) earned him the moniker "PC Plod" whilst in parliament.
[2] Rising to the position of detective sergeant, Blackburn left Liverpool City Police to join Solway Engineering Co. Ltd., where he became a sales director.
A right-winger, he supported the reintroduction of capital and corporal punishment, was a fervent Zionist, and opposed abortion, the EEC and the African National Congress, which he considered to be a terrorist organisation.
[2] In 1982, he unsuccessfully argued in parliament for the retention of the Round Oak Steelworks in Brierley Hill, which closed in December of that year with the loss of nearly 1,300 jobs, and which was later redeveloped as the Waterfront leisure and commercial complex.
[5][6] A by-election was held for his seat, which was won by Labour's Ian Pearson on the biggest swing since the Second World War, winning nearly 70% of the vote.