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John Cryer

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For the American actor, see Jon Cryer.

The Right Honourable
The Lord Cryer
Official portrait, 2019
Lord-in-Waiting
Government Whip
Incumbent
Assumed office
8 October 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office
15 August 2024
Life peerage
Member of Parliament
for Leyton and Wanstead
In office
6 May 2010 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byHarry Cohen
Succeeded byCalvin Bailey
Member of Parliament
for Hornchurch
In office
1 May 1997 – 11 April 2005
Preceded byRobin Squire
Succeeded byJames Brokenshire
Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party
In office
9 February 2015 – 30 May 2024
Leader
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 mater
Websitewww.johncryermp.co.uk Edit this at Wikidata

John Robert Cryer, Baron Cryer (born 11 April 1964), is a British politician. A member of the Labour Party, he was previously the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hornchurch from 1997 to 2005 and the MP for Leyton and Wanstead from 2010 to 2024. Cryer was Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party from 2015 to 2024, and has been a lord-in-waiting in the House of Lords since 2024.

Early life and career

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John Robert Cryer was born on 11 April 1964 to Bob Cryer and Ann Cryer (née Place). Both of his parents were Labour Party members of Parliament,[1] and Cryer served alongside his mother in the Commons from 1997 to 2005. As a child, he appeared in the 1970 film The Railway Children.

A journalist by profession, Cryer was educated at Oakbank School, Keighley, Hatfield Polytechnic, and the London College of Printing.[2] He has worked for Tribune, the Morning Star, the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF), and the Transport and General Workers' Union (now Unite).

Political career

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Cryer was on the left wing of the Labour Party and was a member of the Socialist Campaign Group until he resigned from the group in 2015. He has subsequently moved to the right of the party, supporting Keir Starmer's centrist leadership.[3][4]

Cryer describes himself as a Eurosceptic, and was one of only a small number of Labour MPs who campaigned and voted for the UK to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum.[5] He consistently opposed holding a second referendum on EU membership.[6]

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.[citation needed] 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.[7]

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.[8]

On 9 February 2015, Cryer was elected, unopposed, to succeed Dave Watts as the Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party.[3]

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.[9]

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".[10]

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

Peerage

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After standing down as an MP, Cryer was nominated for a life peerage in the 2024 Dissolution Honours.[12][13][14] He was created Baron Cryer, of Leyton in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, on 15 August 2024.[15]

Personal life

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Cryer's second wife is Ellie Reeves, the Labour MP for Lewisham West and Penge – whose sister is Rachel Reeves, also a Labour MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer since 2024.[16] They have two sons, born in 2015 and 2019.

References

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  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1997
  3. ^ a b "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.
  4. ^ "So how did a left-winger get to be chair of the parliamentary Labour party?". Left Futures. February 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  5. ^ "EU REFERENDUM – JOHN CRYER MP". www.johncryermp.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  6. ^ "EU REFERENDUM | JOHN CRYER MP". www.johncryermp.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Election 2010: Leyton and Wanstead". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  8. ^ Eaton, George (26 January 2015). "The Labour left demand a change of direction – why their intervention matters". New Statesman. London. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  9. ^ "Leyton and Wanstead". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  10. ^ Mason, Rowena; Elgot, Jessica (15 July 2019). "Corbyn under fire from staff and Labour peers over antisemitism". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019.
  11. ^ "John Cryer standing down as MP for Leyton and Wanstead". Waltham Forest Echo. London. 27 May 2024.
  12. ^ "No. 64480". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 August 2024. p. 15222.
  13. ^ "Dissolution Peerages 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  14. ^ Whannel, Kate (4 July 2024). "Theresa May and 'bionic' MP awarded peerages". BBC News. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  15. ^ "No. 64494". The London Gazette. 21 August 2024. p. 16178.
  16. ^ Greatrex, Jonny (26 August 2012). "MP Tom Watson finds new love after break up of marriage". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 14 October 2014.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Cryer.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Hornchurch
1997–2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Leyton and Wanstead
2010–2024 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party
2015–2024 		Succeeded by
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen
Baron Cryer 		Followed by
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