īryant was the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs Charlie Falconer. On 5 September 2006, with Siôn Simon, he coordinated a prominent letter which was signed by 15 Labour backbenchers calling for Tony Blair's immediate resignation. Bryant is a signatory of the Henry Jackson Society principles. įrom 2004 until 2007, Bryant was chairman of the Labour Movement for Europe, succeeded by Mary Creagh MP. He is a member of the Labour Friends of Israel and Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East group. In 2003, Bryant voted for participation in the Iraq war. He retained the seat comfortably at the 2001 general election with a 16,047 majority, one of the largest in the country. Fifty-two people applied for the candidature and a local councillor was hot favourite to win. He says of his surprise selection, "I fell off the chair, and my opponents certainly did". His selection for the very safe Labour seat of Rhondda in South Wales in 2000 surprised many people given Bryant's background – gay, a former Anglican cleric, and someone who had been a Conservative as a student. He was Labour candidate for Wycombe in the 1997 general election (where he lost by 2,370 votes), and Head of European Affairs for the BBC from 1998. In 1996, he became a full-time author, writing biographies of Stafford Cripps and Glenda Jackson. From 1994 to 1996, he was London manager of the charity Common Purpose. He became Chairman of the Christian Socialist Movement. From 1993, he was Local Government Officer for the Labour Party he lived in Hackney and was elected to Hackney Borough Council in 1993, representing Leabridge ward and serving until 1998. Early political career Īfter leaving the priesthood in 1991, Bryant made a radical career move and began work as the election agent to the Holborn and St Pancras Constituency Labour Party, where he helped Frank Dobson hold his seat in the 1992 general election. Statements made by Richard Harries, the then- Bishop of Oxford also influenced his decision. In 1991, Bryant left the ordained ministry, after deciding that being gay and being a priest were incompatible. He served as a curate at the Church of All Saints, High Wycombe from 1986 to 1989 and then as a Youth Chaplain in Peterborough, as well as travelling in Latin America. He was ordained deacon in 1986 and priest in 1987. There, he obtained a further degree in theology. He was educated at Cheltenham College, an independent school for boys in Cheltenham, and at Mansfield College, Oxford, where he read English.Īlthough initially a member of the Conservative Party, and an elected office-holder in the Oxford University Conservative Association, he joined the Labour Party in 1986 after leaving Oxford.Īfter completing his first degree, Bryant began his training to be a priest in the Church of England at Ripon College Cuddesdon in Oxfordshire. Bryant grew up in Cardiff (where his father worked for five years), Spain for five years in the 1960s (leading to his speaking fluent Spanish), and Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He served in the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Culture Secretary in 2015 and Shadow Leader of the House of Commons from 2015 to 2016, before resigning in protest at Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.Ĭhris Bryant was born in Cardiff, Wales, to a Scottish mother and a Welsh father. He was elected for Rhondda at the 2001 general election. After graduating with a further degree in theology, he worked as a Church of England priest as well as having roles at the BBC and Common Purpose. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Rhondda since 2001.īorn in Cardiff, Bryant was privately educated at Cheltenham College before studying English at Mansfield College, Oxford. He previously served in government as Deputy Leader of the House of Commons from 2008 to 2009 and Under-Secretary of State for Europe and Asia from 2009 to 2010. Sir Christopher John Bryant (born 11 January 1962) is a British politician and former Anglican priest who is the chair of the Committees on Standards and Privileges.
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