Peter Kyle | |
---|---|
Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology | |
Assumed office 4 September 2023 | |
Leader | Keir Starmer |
Preceded by | Office established |
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |
In office 29 November 2021 – 4 September 2023 | |
Leader | Keir Starmer |
Preceded by | Louise Haigh |
Succeeded by | Hilary Benn |
Shadow Minister for Schools | |
In office 14 May 2021 – 29 November 2021 | |
Leader | Keir Starmer |
Preceded by | Wes Streeting |
Succeeded by | Stephen Morgan |
Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice | |
In office 9 April 2020 – 14 May 2021 | |
Leader | Keir Starmer |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Anna McMorrin |
Member of Parliament for Hove | |
Assumed office 7 May 2015 | |
Preceded by | Mike Weatherley |
Majority | 17,044 (30.2%) |
Personal details | |
Born | West Sussex, England | 9 September 1970
Political party | Labour |
Education | Felpham Comprehensive School, [1] West Sussex |
Alma mater | University of Sussex |
Signature | |
Website | Official website |
Academic background | |
Thesis | Building capacity for community economic development: the case of the Kat river valley, South Africa (2004) |
Peter Kyle (born 9 September 1970) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology since 2023. [2] A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hove since 2015. [3]
A former charity sector executive, he previously served as a Shadow Justice Minister from 2020 to 2021 and a Shadow Education Minister in 2021.
Kyle grew up in West Sussex and was educated at Felpham Comprehensive School (now Felpham Community College), near Bognor Regis in West Sussex, [4] where he had dyslexia and left school, in his own words, "without any usable qualifications". [4] By the age of 25, he was accepted on his third attempt to become a student at the University of Sussex, [4] where he gained a degree in geography, international development and environmental studies, and later a doctorate in community development. He moved to Brighton and Hove in 1996.
He worked as an aid worker in Eastern Europe and the Balkans helping young people whose lives had been affected by the political instability created by war. [5]
In 2006, Kyle became a Cabinet Office special advisor focusing on social exclusion policy.
From 2007 to 2013, he was deputy chief executive of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO). In 2013, he became chief executive of Working for Youth, a newly formed charity focusing on helping unemployed youth. [6]
In the 2015 election, Kyle was elected with a majority of 1,236, increasing that to 18,757 in the 2017 election and holding the seat in 2019 with a slightly reduced majority of 17,044. [7]
He sat on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee between 2016 and 2020, where he questioned Mike Ashley, boss of Sports Direct, over poor working practices in his warehouses. Ashley accused Kyle of making "defamatory comments" against him and called for the MP to stand down from the committee. [8]
Kyle is the co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Southern Rail.[ citation needed]
He campaigned for remain during the EU membership referendum, 2016. In June 2018, he said "Brexit is a big deal but it's not a done deal". [9] In March 2019, [10] alongside fellow Labour MP Phil Wilson, Kyle put forward an amendment to Theresa May's Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. Dubbed the "Kyle-Wilson" amendment, it aimed to pass the Withdrawal Agreement Bill on the condition that the deal on offer would go back to the British people through a confirmatory vote. [11] Whilst failing to pass twice in the House of Commons, it came closest to a majority; only 12 votes short on its second attempt. [12] Both Kyle and Wilson signalled that they would bring back the amendment if Boris Johnson was to return with a Brexit deal in October 2019. [13]
In September 2020, Kyle was appointed a vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel. [14]
In April 2020, he became the Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice. [15] He has campaigned on the issue of 'sex for rent' and demanded a change to the law for landlords who engage in sexual exploitation of tenants. [16]
In February 2021, [17] Kyle presented a bill for victims to Parliament which had the aims of:
In a minor Labour reshuffle in May 2021, Kyle was promoted to succeed Wes Streeting as the Shadow Minister for Schools. [20]
He was appointed Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary in the November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle. [21]
Kyle backed Liz Kendall in the 2015 Labour leadership election, [22] and supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour leadership election. [23]
He was in favour of the UK remaining in the European Union. In February 2019, he drafted an amendment to accept the government's Brexit deal on the basis it would go to a public vote as a second referendum. Alongside deputy leader Tom Watson, he advocated for this position to become Labour policy. [24] [25] [26] Following Labour's defeat in the 2019 general election, Kyle urged Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to resign, saying that the loss was not related to Labour's position on Brexit but rather to Corbyn's incompetent leadership. [27]
He has championed apprenticeships, [28] pledging[ when?] to create 1,000 apprenticeships in 1,000 days in co-operation with the council and via the creation of a Greater Brighton Employer Skills Task Force. [29]
He has called for the voting age to be lowered to 16 and put forward his own bill on the subject in 2017. [30]
He endorsed Jess Phillips in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election. [31]
In September 2022, he spoke in favour of Labour accepting Brexit and presenting a "positive vision for a better Britain" outside of the European Union. [32]
He was chair of governors of Brighton Aldridge Community Academy. [33] [34]
Kyle has dyslexia. [35] He is openly gay. [36] [37] For eight years he was in a relationship with Czech man Vlastimil Tiser, until Tiser's death in 2012. [38]
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