John Cryer
John Cryer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party | |
| Assumed office 9 February 2015 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband Jeremy Corbyn Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | David Watts |
| Member of Parliament for Leyton and Wanstead | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Harry Cohen |
| Majority | 20,808 (46.7%) |
| Member of Parliament for Hornchurch | |
| In office 1 May 1997 – 11 April 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Robin Squire |
| Succeeded by | James Brokenshire |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Robert Cryer 11 April 1964 Darwen, Lancashire, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Second wife: |
| Alma mater | University of Hertfordshire University of the Arts London |
| Website | Official website |
John Robert Cryer (born 11 April 1964) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leyton and Wanstead since the general election in May 2010.[1] He was previously MP for Hornchurch from 1997 until his defeat at the 2005 general election. He is the Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
Early life and education
Cryer is the son of Ann Cryer and Bob Cryer, both former Labour MPs.[2] As a child he appeared as an extra in the film The Railway Children (1970).
A journalist by profession, Cryer was educated at Oakbank School, Keighley, Hatfield Polytechnic and the London College of Printing.[3]
Political career
Cryer was on the left wing of the Labour Party and was a member of the Socialist Campaign Group until he resigned from the group in 2015.[4][5]
He has worked for Tribune, the Morning Star, ASLEF and the Transport and General Workers Union (now Unite).
Cryer describes himself as a Eurosceptic, and was one of only a small number of Labour MPs who campaigned and voted for the UK to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum.[6] He consistently opposed holding a second referendum on EU membership.[7] His seat was targeted by the Pro-EU Liberal Democrats in the 2019 general election for his support for Brexit.[8]
As Member of Parliament for Hornchurch, Cryer had a record as a rebel. He voted against tuition fees and top-up fees for higher education, against cuts in lone parent benefits (the first major rebellion under the Blair government) and against the Iraq War.[citation needed] He lost this marginal seat in 2005, before being selected to succeed Harry Cohen in Leyton and Wanstead, a safe Labour seat; he comfortably retained it for the party at the 2010 general election.
Cryer was one of 16 signatories of an open letter to Ed Miliband in January 2015 calling on the party to commit to oppose further austerity, take rail franchises back into public ownership and strengthen collective bargaining arrangements.[9]
On 9 February 2015, Cryer was elected, unopposed, to succeed Dave Watts as the Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party.[4]
On 8 May 2015, Cryer was re-elected as MP for the Leyton and Wanstead constituency with 58.6% of the vote. On 8 June 2017, he was re-elected as MP for the Leyton and Wanstead constituency with 69.8% of the vote.[10]
In July 2019, following the BBC Panorama programme "Is Labour Antisemitic?", Cryer condemned his party's attack on former staff whistleblowers who had appeared in the programme as "a gross misjudgment".[11]
Personal life
Cryer's second wife is Ellie Reeves, the Labour MP for Lewisham West and Penge, whose sister is Rachel Reeves, the current Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer as of November 2022.[12]
References
- ^ "Election 2010: Leyton and Wanstead". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "MP For The Keighley Constituency Ann Cryer". Ilkley.org – Wharfedale's Community on the Web. Wharfedale Online Trust. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
- ^ Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1997
- ^ a b "John Cryer Is The New Chair Of The PLP". LabourList. 9 February 2015. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ "So how did a left-winger get to be chair of the parliamentary Labour party?". Left Futures. February 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- ^ "EU REFERENDUM – JOHN CRYER MP". www.johncryermp.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
- ^ "EU REFERENDUM | JOHN CRYER MP". www.johncryermp.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ Blackburn, Ralph (26 April 2017). "Election 2017: Wanstead's Lib Dem candidate – 'I'm the only person who will fight against a hard Brexit'". Ilford Recorder. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Eaton, George (26 January 2015). "The Labour left demand a change of direction – why their intervention matters". New Statesman. London. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ^ "Leyton and Wanstead". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
- ^ Mason, Rowena; Elgot, Jessica (15 July 2019). "Corbyn under fire from staff and Labour peers over antisemitism". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019.
- ^ Greatrex, Jonny (26 August 2012). "MP Tom Watson finds new love after break up of marriage". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 14 October 2014.
