Peter Kyle
MP
Official portrait, 2020
Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Assumed office
4 September 2023
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byOffice established
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office
29 November 2021 – 4 September 2023
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byLouise Haigh
Succeeded byHilary Benn
Shadow Minister for Schools
In office
14 May 2021 – 29 November 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byWes Streeting
Succeeded byStephen Morgan
Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice
In office
9 April 2020 – 14 May 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byAnna McMorrin
Member of Parliament
for Hove
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byMike Weatherley
Majority17,044 (30.2%)
Personal details
Born (1970-09-09) 9 September 1970
West Sussex, England
Political partyLabour
Alma materUniversity of Sussex
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website
Academic background
ThesisBuilding 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.[1] A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hove since 2015.[2]

A former charity sector executive, he previously served as a Shadow Justice Minister from 2020 to 2021 and a Shadow Education Minister in 2021.

Early life and career

Kyle grew up in West Sussex and moved to Brighton and Hove in 1996. He gained a degree in geography, international development and environmental studies, and later a doctorate in community development from the University of Sussex. In 2006, he became a Cabinet Office special advisor focusing on social exclusion policy.

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.[3]

From 2007 to 2013, he was deputy chief executive of ACEVO. In 2013, he became chief executive of Working for Youth, a newly formed charity focusing on helping unemployed youth.[4]

Parliamentary career

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.[5]

Positions and votes

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.[6]

Kyle is the co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Southern Rail.

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".[7] In March 2019,[8] 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.[9] Whilst failing to pass twice in the House of Commons, it came closest to a majority; only 12 votes short on its second attempt.[10] 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.[11]

In September 2020, Kyle was appointed a vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel.[12]

Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice

In April 2020, he became the Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice.[13] 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.[14]

In February 2021,[15] Kyle presented a bill for victims to Parliament which had the aims of:

  • Ensuring victims are read their rights at the same time as perpetrators
  • Creating a register for people who run departments in the justice system which routinely ignore victims' rights
  • Giving victims of persistent anti-social behaviour the same rights as victims of crimes
  • Making the Victims' Commissioner independent of government and able to launch their own investigations.[16][17]

Shadow Minister for Schools

In a minor Labour reshuffle in May 2021, Kyle was promoted to succeed Wes Streeting as the Shadow Minister for Schools.[18]

Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary

He was appointed Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary in the November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle.[19]

Political views

Kyle backed Liz Kendall in the 2015 Labour leadership election,[20] and supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour leadership election.[21]

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.[22][23][24] 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.[25]

He has championed apprenticeships,[26] pledging 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.[27]

He has called for the voting age to be lowered to 16 and put forward his own bill on the subject in 2017.[28]

He endorsed Jess Phillips in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election.[29]

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.[30]

Personal life

He was chair of governors of Brighton Aldridge Community Academy.[31][32]

Kyle has dyslexia.[33] He is openly gay.[34][35] For eight years he was in a relationship with Czech man Vlastimil Tiser, until Tiser's death in 2012.[36]

References

  1. ↑ "Labour reshuffle live: Angela Rayner gets new role as Keir Starmer reshuffles team". BBC News. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  2. ↑ "Hove parliamentary constituency – Election 2015 – BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Hove MP shares his experience of working in aid camps in Commons debate". Brighton and Hove News. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  4. ↑ Ainsworth, David (5 August 2013). "Peter Kyle to leave Acevo later this year". Third Sector. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "Hove parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  6. ↑ Armstrong, Ashley (23 May 2016). "Mike Ashley: MP must resign from Sports Direct inquiry". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  7. ↑ "Peter Kyle: Brexit is a big deal – but it is not a done deal". LabourList. 25 June 2018.
  8. ↑ "What is the Kyle-Wilson amendment that could deliver a fresh Brexit referendum?". The Independent. 2 March 2019. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022.
  9. ↑ Kyle, Wilson, Peter, Phil (17 March 2019). "Only our Compromise can Break the Brexit Impasse". The Guardian.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ "Peter Kyle's motion E (Confirmatory public vote)". Commons Votes. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  11. ↑ Fraser, Tali (21 September 2019). "Labour MPs vow to revive Commons push for a second referendum in bid to end Brexit 'crisis'". Politics Home.
  12. ↑ Harpin, Lee (9 September 2020). "Labour Friends of Israel announces six new vice-chairs". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  13. ↑ Rogers, Sienna (9 April 2020). "Shadow ministers appointed as Starmer completes frontbench". LabourList. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  14. ↑ "Sex-For-Rent: Landlords named and shamed in newspaper sting". Landlord Today. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  15. ↑ "Victims of Crime and Anti-social Behaviour, Etc (Rights, Entitlements and Related Matters) - Tuesday 9 February 2021 - Hansard - UK Parliament". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  16. ↑ "Victims of Crime and Anti-social Behaviour, Etc (Rights, Entitlements and Related Matters) Bill 2019-21 — UK Parliament". services.parliament.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  17. ↑ "Victims of crimes 're-traumatised' by system". BBC News. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  18. ↑ Rodgers, Sienna (14 May 2021). "Reshuffle: Keir Starmer's new Labour frontbench in full". LabourList. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  19. ↑ "Peter Kyle profile: NI's new Shadow Secretary replacing Louise Haigh an advocate for dyslexia and EU supporter". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  20. ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn would be an "electoral disaster" for the Labour party says Hove MP". The Argus. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  21. ↑ "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  22. ↑ Stewart, Heather (24 February 2019). Tom Watson urges Corbyn to get a grip on Labour 'crisis'. The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  23. ↑ Jeremy Corbyn inching closer to backing a second referendum. The Guardian (21 February 2019). Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  24. ↑ Bust-up as Jeremy Corbyn's number two Tom Watson walks out of shadow cabinet over second Brexit referendum. Evening Standard (30 April 2019). Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  25. ↑ Bullmore, Harry (14 December 2019). Peter Kyle urges Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to stand down. The Argus. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  26. ↑ "Peter Kyle: Championing apprenticeships in Hove and Portslade". Brighton & Hove Independent. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  27. ↑ "1,000 Apprenticeships | Brighton & Hove City Council". brighton-hove.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  28. ↑ Kyle, Peter. "Representation of the People (Young People's Enfranchisement) Bill 2017-19". Parliament UK.
  29. ↑ "Peter Kyle on Twitter: "Jess... can count on my nomination"". Twitter. 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  30. ↑ "Labour can't win election with Brexit negativity, shadow minister says". BBC News. 25 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  31. ↑ "Brighton Aldridge Community Academy - Section 13 - Governors' Information and Duties". www.baca-uk.org.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  32. ↑ le Duc, Frank (12 July 2017). "MP steps down as chair of governors at Brighton school". Brighton and Hove News. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  33. ↑ "MP with dyslexia hits back at 'spelling police'". BBC News. 28 October 2019.
  34. ↑ Ben Riley-Smith (14 May 2015). "Commons has more gay MPs than any other parliament in the world". Daily Telegraph.
  35. ↑ Leftly, Mark (20 February 2016). "Gay MPs: The photograph that shows Westminster's attitude towards LGBT politicians is changing". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  36. ↑ Thomson, Alice (28 September 2023). "Peter Kyle: It was 5am. A woman said, 'Your partner is dead.'". The Times. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
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