John Cryer
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.
John Cryer | |
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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(s) | Second wife: |
Alma mater | University of Hertfordshire University of the Arts London |
Website | Official website |
Education
A journalist by profession, Cryer was educated at Oakbank School, Keighley, Hatfield Polytechnic and the London College of Printing.[2]
Political career
Cryer is on the left-wing of the Labour Party and is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group. He has worked for Tribune and the Morning Star for ASLEF and the Transport and General Workers Union (now Unite). He is a Eurosceptic, and voted for the UK to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum.[3]
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.
He was also involved in local campaigns to save a local primary school, to prevent the loss of a popular GP surgery in Rainham and against proposals to cut the number of beds at Oldchurch Hospital. 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.[4]
On 9 February 2015, he was elected, unopposed, to succeed Dave Watts as the Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party.[5]
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.[6]
Cyer voted to leave the European Union in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum and has argued against holding a Second referendum on EU membership.[7]
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".[8]
Personal life
He is the son of Ann Cryer and Bob Cryer, both former Labour MPs.[9] As a child he appeared as an extra in the film The Railway Children (1970). His second wife is Ellie Reeves, a Labour MP for Lewisham West and Penge and Labour NEC member from 2006–2016 and a trade union lawyer, who is the sister of Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.[10]
References
- "Election 2010: Leyton and Wanstead". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1997
- "EU REFERENDUM – JOHN CRYER MP". www.johncryermp.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
- Eaton, George (26 January 2015). "The Labour left demand a change of direction – why their intervention matters". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- "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.
- "Leyton and Wanstead". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
- "EU REFERENDUM | JOHN CRYER MP". www.johncryermp.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- Rowena Mason and Jessica Elgot, "Corbyn under fire from staff and Labour peers over antisemitism" Archived 21 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian, 15 July 2019, accessed 21 July 2019)
- "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.
- Jonny Greatrex "MP Tom Watson finds new love after break up of marriage" Archived 14 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Birmingham Mail, 26 August 2012
External links
- Official website
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- Profile: John Cryer, BBC News, 22 October 2002
- Leyton & Wanstead Labour
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Robin Squire |
Member of Parliament for Hornchurch 1997–2005 |
Succeeded by James Brokenshire |
Preceded by Harry Cohen |
Member of Parliament for Leyton and Wanstead 2010–present |
Incumbent |
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by David Watts |
Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party 2015–present |
Incumbent |