John Cryer
| Lord Cryer link Powerbase Twitter Website (Politician) | |
|---|---|
| File:John Cryer 1.jpg | |
| Born | John Robert Cryer 11 April 1964 Darwen, Lancashire, England |
| Parents | Bob Cryer, Ann Cryer, |
| Children | 2 |
| Spouse | Ellie Reeves |
Former Labour Party MP, Lord Cryer is the brother-in-law of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves | |
John Robert Cryer, Baron Cryer, is an English Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leyton and Wanstead from 2010 to 2024,[1] and previously MP for Hornchurch from 1997 until his defeat at the 2005 General Election.[2]
In November 2020, when Cryer was Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party,[3] Leyton & Wanstead CLP voted overwhelmingly for an expression of support for former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn – and against Keir Starmer’s breach of rules and practice in withdrawing the whip from Corbyn.[4]
After John Cryer decided to stand down at the UK/General election/2024, Labour's NEC parachuted in RAF Wing Commander (ret'd) Calvin Bailey to replace him in the Leyton & Wanstead constituency.[5] He was nominated in the 2024 Dissolution Honours and was created Baron Cryer of Leyton in the London Borough of Waltham Forest on 15 August 2024.
Education
A journalist by profession, Cryer attended Oakbank School, Keighley, Hatfield Polytechnic and the London College of Printing.[6]
Political career
He is on the left-wing of the Labour Party and is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group. He has worked for Tribune magazine and the Morning Star, for ASLEF and the Transport and General Workers Union (now Unite). He is a Eurosceptic.
As Member of Parliament for Hornchurch, he 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 involved in local campaigns, for example 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 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[7]
On 9 February 2015 he was elected, unopposed, to succeed Dave Watts as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party.[8]
On 8 May 2015 he was re-elected as MP for the Leyton and Wanstead constituency with 58.6% of the vote. In the UK/2017 General Election, John Cryer was returned with 32,234 votes or 69.8%, an 11.2% increased share.
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 wife is Solicitor General for England and Wales, Ellie Reeves MP, (Lewisham West & Penge), who is the sister of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP (Leeds West).[10]
References
- ↑ "Election 2010: Leyton and Wanstead"
- ↑ "Profile: John Cryer"
- ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn plunged into fresh civil war with Labour MPs as he's accused of acting in 'bad faith'"
- ↑ "‘PLP’ – Labour MPs’ grouping – chair’s CLP defies free-speech ban to vote support for Corbyn"
- ↑ "Calvin Bailey is a Labour Party candidate in Leyton and Wanstead constituency in the UK Parliamentary general election"
- ↑ Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1997
- ↑ "The Labour left demand a change of direction – why their intervention matters"
- ↑ "John Cryer Is The New Chair Of The PLP"
- ↑ "MP For The Keighley Constituency Ann Cryer"
- ↑ "MP Tom Watson finds new love after break up of marriage"
External links
- Profile: John Cryer, BBC News, 22 October 2002
- Leyton & Wanstead Labour
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