Peter Kyle

Peter Kyle was born on 9 September 1970 and grew up in West Sussex, where he was educated at Felpham Comprehensive School (now Felpham Community College), near Bognor Regis.^[3] It was at school that he found out he had dyslexia and left school, in his own words, "without any usable qualifications".^[3] By the age of 25, he was accepted on his third attempt to become a student at the University of Sussex,^[3] where he gained a degree in geography, international development and environmental studies, and later a doctorate in community development.

He worked as an aid worker in Eastern Europe and the Balkans helping young people whose lives had been affected by the political instability created by war.^[4]

In 2006, Kyle became a Cabinet Office special advisor focusing on social exclusion policy.

From 2007 to 2013, he was deputy chief executive of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO). In 2013, he became chief executive of Working for Youth, a newly formed charity focusing on helping unemployed youth.^[5]

At the 2015 general election, Kyle was elected to Parliament as MP for Hove with 42.3% of the vote and a majority of 1,236.^[6][7][8]

Kyle backed Liz Kendall in the 2015 Labour leadership election,^[9] and supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour leadership election.^[10]

Kyle sat on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee between 2016 and 2020. In May 2016, he questioned Mike Ashley, boss of Sports Direct, over poor working practices in his warehouses. Ashley accused Kyle of making "defamatory comments" against him and called for the MP to stand down from the committee.^[11]

He campaigned for remain during the 2016 Brexit referendum.^[12]

Kyle has championed apprenticeships,^[13] pledging in August 2016 to create 1,000 apprenticeships in 1,000 days in co-operation with the council and via the creation of a Greater Brighton Employer Skills Task Force.^[14]

Kyle was re-elected as MP for Hove at the snap 2017 general election with an increased vote share of 64.1% and an increased majority of 18,757.^[15][16]

In May 2018 Kyle called for the voting age to be lowered to 16 and put forward his own bill to this effect.^[17]

In March 2019, alongside fellow Labour MP Phil Wilson, Kyle put forward an amendment to Theresa May's Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.^[18] Dubbed the "Kyle-Wilson" amendment, it aimed to pass the Withdrawal Agreement Bill on the condition that the deal on offer would go back to the British people through a confirmatory vote.^[19] Whilst failing to pass twice in the House of Commons, it came 12 votes short on its second attempt.^[20] Both Kyle and Wilson signalled that they would bring back the amendment if Boris Johnson were to return with a Brexit deal in October 2019.^[21] Alongside deputy leader Tom Watson, Kyle advocated for this position to become Labour policy.^[22][23][24]

At the 2019 general election, Kyle was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 58.3% and a decreased majority of 17,044.^[25][16][26]

Following Labour's defeat in the 2019 general election, Kyle urged Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to resign, saying that the loss was not related to Labour's position on Brexit but rather to "dissatisfaction with our leadership and seeming incompetence".^[27]

Kyle endorsed Jess Phillips in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election.^[28]

In September 2020, Kyle was appointed a vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel.^[29]

In September 2022, he spoke in favour of Labour accepting Brexit and presenting a "positive vision for a better Britain" outside of the European Union.^[30]

Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice

In April 2020, he became the Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice.^[31] He has campaigned on the issue of 'sex for rent' and demanded a change to the law for landlords who engage in sexual exploitation of tenants.^[32]

In February 2021,^[33] Kyle presented a bill for victims to Parliament which had the aims of:

• Ensuring victims are read their rights at the same time as perpetrators
• Creating a register for people who run departments in the justice system which routinely ignore victims' rights
• Giving victims of persistent anti-social behaviour the same rights as victims of crimes
• Making the Victims' Commissioner independent of government and able to launch their own investigations.^[34][35]

Shadow Minister for Schools

In a minor Labour reshuffle in May 2021, Kyle was promoted to succeed Wes Streeting as the Shadow Minister for Schools.^[36]

Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary

He was appointed Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary in the November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle.^[37]

From 2016 to 2017 Kyle was chair of governors of Brighton Aldridge Community Academy.^[38][39]

He is openly gay,^[40][41] and for eight years he was in a relationship with Vlastimil Tiser, until Tiser's death in 2012.^[42]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peter Kyle (politician).

• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou