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John Cryer

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For the American actor, seeJon Cryer.

John Cryer
Official portrait, 2019
Member of Parliament
In office
6 May 2010 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byHarry Cohen
Succeeded byCalvin Bailey
ConstituencyLeyton and Wanstead
In office
1 May 1997 – 11 April 2005
Preceded byRobin Squire
Succeeded byJames Brokenshire
ConstituencyHornchurch
Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party
In office
9 February 2015 – 30 May 2024
LeaderEd Miliband
Jeremy Corbyn
Keir Starmer
Preceded byDavid Watts
Succeeded byJessica Morden
Personal details
Born
John Robert Cryer

(1964-04-11)11 April 1964(age 60)
Darwen,Lancashire,England
Political partyLabour
Spouse
​
(m.2012)​
Parents
Alma materUniversity of Hertfordshire
University of the Arts London
WebsiteOfficial website

John Robert Cryer(born 11 April 1964) is a British politician who served asMember of Parliament(MP) forLeyton and Wansteadfrom 2010 to 2024.[1]A member of theLabour Party,he was previously MP forHornchurchfrom 1997 to 2005. Cryer wasChair of the Parliamentary Labour Partyfrom 2015 to 2024.

Early life and career[edit]

John Robert Cryer was born on 11 April 1964 to Labour politiciansAnnandBob Cryer.Both of his parents became Members of Parliament,[2]and he served alongside his mother in the Commons from 1997 to 2005. As a child, he appeared in the 1970 filmThe Railway Children.

A journalist by profession, Cryer was educated atOakbank School, Keighley,Hatfield Polytechnicand theLondon College of Printing.[3]

He has worked forTribune,theMorning Star,ASLEFand theTransport and General Workers' Union(nowUnite).

Political career[edit]

Cryer was on the left wing of theLabour Partyand was a member of theSocialist Campaign Groupuntil he resigned from the group in 2015. He has subsequently moved to the right of the party, supportingKeir Starmer'scentristleadership.[4][5]

Cryer describes himself as aEurosceptic,and was one of only a small number of Labour MPs who campaigned and voted for the UK toleavetheEuropean Unionin the2016 referendum.[6]He consistently opposed holding asecond referendum on EU membership.[7]

As Member of Parliament forHornchurch,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 theBlair government) and against theIraq War.[citation needed]He lost thismarginal seatin 2005, before being selected to succeedHarry Cohenin Leyton and Wanstead, asafeLabour seat; he comfortably retained it for the party at the2010 general election.

Cryer was one of 16 signatories of an open letter toEd Milibandin January 2015 calling on the party to commit to oppose further austerity, take rail franchises back into public ownership and strengthen collective bargaining arrangements.[8]

On 9 February 2015, Cryer was elected, unopposed, to succeedDave Wattsas theChair of the Parliamentary Labour Party.[4]

On8 May 2015,Cryer was re-elected as MP for the Leyton and Wanstead constituency with 58.6% of the vote. On8 June 2017,he was re-elected as MP for the Leyton and Wanstead constituency with 69.8% of the vote.[9]

In July 2019, following the BBCPanoramaprogramme"Is Labour Antisemitic?",Cryer condemned his party's attack on former staff whistleblowers who had appeared in the programme as "a gross misjudgment".[10]

On 27 May 2024, Cryer announced his intention to stand down at the2024 general election.[11]

Peerage[edit]

In the2024 Dissolution Honours,he was nominated for alife peerage.[12]

Personal life[edit]

Cryer's second wife isEllie Reeves,the Labour MP forLewisham West and Penge- whose sister isRachel Reeves,also a Labour MP.[13]They have two sons, born in 2015 and 2019.

References[edit]

  1. ^"Election 2010: Leyton and Wanstead".BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 23 August 2017.Retrieved7 May2010.
  2. ^"MP For The Keighley Constituency Ann Cryer".Ilkley.org – Wharfedale's Community on the Web.Wharfedale Online Trust. Archived fromthe originalon 27 December 2008.Retrieved28 June2009.
  3. ^Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1997
  4. ^ab"John Cryer Is The New Chair Of The PLP".LabourList.9 February 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 10 February 2015.Retrieved10 February2015.
  5. ^"So how did a left-winger get to be chair of the parliamentary Labour party?".Left Futures.February 2015.Retrieved6 August2020.
  6. ^"EU REFERENDUM – JOHN CRYER MP".www.johncryermp.co.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 18 October 2017.Retrieved17 October2017.
  7. ^"EU REFERENDUM | JOHN CRYER MP".www.johncryermp.co.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 20 August 2019.Retrieved15 November2019.
  8. ^Eaton, George (26 January 2015)."The Labour left demand a change of direction – why their intervention matters".New Statesman.London.Archivedfrom the original on 12 April 2015.Retrieved5 April2015.
  9. ^"Leyton and Wanstead".BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 8 May 2015.Retrieved9 May2015.
  10. ^Mason, Rowena; Elgot, Jessica (15 July 2019)."Corbyn under fire from staff and Labour peers over antisemitism".The Guardian.London. Archived fromthe originalon 21 July 2019.
  11. ^"John Cryer standing down as MP for Leyton and Wanstead".Waltham Forest Echo.London. 27 May 2024.
  12. ^"Dissolution Peerages 2024".GOV.UK.Retrieved4 July2024.
  13. ^Greatrex, Jonny (26 August 2012)."MP Tom Watson finds new love after break up of marriage".Birmingham Mail.Archived fromthe originalon 14 October 2014.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toJohn Cryer.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
forHornchurch
1997–2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament
forLeyton and Wanstead
2010–2024 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chair of theParliamentary Labour Party
2015–present 		Incumbent
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