View source for John Cryer

{{Short description|British politician (born 1964)}}
{{For|the American actor|Jon Cryer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = The Lord Cryer
| honorific_suffix    = 
| image               = Official portrait of John Cryer MP crop 2.jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 2019
| office              = [[Lord-in-Waiting]]<br />[[Government Whip]]
| term_start          = 8 October 2024
| term_end            = 14 February 2025
| primeminister       = [[Keir Starmer]]
| office1             = [[Member of the House of Lords]]<br />[[Lord Temporal]]
| term_start1         = 15 August 2024<br />[[Life peer]]age
| term_end1           = 
| office2             = [[Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party]]
| leader2             = {{plainlist|
* [[Ed Miliband]]
* [[Jeremy Corbyn]]
* [[Keir Starmer]]
}}
| term_start2         = 9 February 2015
| term_end2           = 30 May 2024
| predecessor2        = [[David Watts, Baron Watts|David Watts]]
| successor2          = [[Jessica Morden]]
| office3             = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]
| constituency3       = [[Leyton and Wanstead]]
| term_start3         = 6 May 2010
| term_end3           = 30 May 2024
| predecessor3        = [[Harry Cohen]]
| successor3          = [[Calvin Bailey]]
| constituency4       = [[Hornchurch (UK Parliament constituency)|Hornchurch]]
| term_start4         = 1 May 1997
| term_end4           = 11 April 2005
| predecessor4        = [[Robin Squire]]
| successor4          = [[James Brokenshire]]
| birth_name          = John Robert Cryer
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1964|4|11|df=yes}}
| birth_place         = [[Darwen]], Lancashire, England
| party               = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Ellie Reeves]]|2012}}
| father              = [[Bob Cryer]]
| mother              = [[Ann Cryer]]
| children            = 2
| alma_mater          = {{plainlist|
* [[Hatfield Polytechnic]]
* [[London College of Printing]]
}}
| website             = {{Official URL|johncryermp.co.uk}}
}}

'''John Robert Cryer, Baron Cryer''' (born 11 April 1964), is a British politician. A member of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], he was previously the [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Hornchurch (UK Parliament constituency)|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 was a [[lord-in-waiting]] in the [[House of Lords]] from 2024 until 2025.

== Early life and career ==
John Robert Cryer was born on 11 April 1964 to [[Bob Cryer]] and [[Ann Cryer]] ({{nee|Place}}). Both of his parents were [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] members of Parliament,<ref>{{cite web |title=MP For The Keighley Constituency Ann Cryer |url= http://www.ilkley.org/govment/ukmp.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081227235715/http://www.ilkley.org/govment/ukmp.htm |archive-date=27 December 2008 |access-date=28 June 2009 |work=Ilkley.org – Wharfedale's Community on the Web |publisher=Wharfedale Online Trust}}</ref> 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 (1970 film)|The Railway Children]]''.

A journalist by profession, Cryer was educated at [[Oakbank School, Keighley]], [[Hatfield Polytechnic]], and the [[London College of Printing]].<ref>Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1997</ref> He has worked for ''[[Tribune (magazine)|Tribune]]'', the ''[[Morning Star (British newspaper)|Morning Star]]'', the [[Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen]] (ASLEF), and the [[Transport and General Workers' Union]] (now [[Unite the Union|Unite]]).

== Political career ==
Cryer was on the left wing of the [[Labour Party (UK)|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.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web |title=So how did a left-winger get to be chair of the parliamentary Labour party? |website=Left Futures |date=February 2015 |url= https://www.leftfutures.org/2015/02/so-how-did-a-left-winger-get-to-be-chair-of-the-parliamentary-labour-party/|access-date=6 August 2020}}</ref>

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 [[Brexit|leave]] the [[European Union]] in the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|2016 referendum]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.johncryermp.co.uk/eu-referendum-result |title=EU REFERENDUM – JOHN CRYER MP |website= www.johncryermp.co.uk |access-date=17 October 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171018133629/http://www.johncryermp.co.uk/eu-referendum-result |archive-date=18 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> He consistently opposed holding a [[second referendum on EU membership]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.johncryermp.co.uk/eu-referendum-result |title=EU REFERENDUM {{!}} JOHN CRYER MP |website=www.johncryermp.co.uk |access-date=15 November 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190820235001/https://www.johncryermp.co.uk/eu-referendum-result |archive-date=20 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

As Member of Parliament for [[Hornchurch (UK Parliament constituency)|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 [[First Blair ministry|Blair government]]) and against the [[Iraq War]].{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} He lost this [[marginal seat]] in 2005, before being selected to succeed [[Harry Cohen]] in Leyton and Wanstead, a [[safe seat|safe]] Labour seat; he comfortably retained it for the party at the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 general election]].<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results/constituency/c63.stm |title=Election 2010: Leyton and Wanstead |publisher=BBC News |access-date=7 May 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170823094103/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/c63.stm |archive-date=23 August 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Eaton |first1=George |title=The Labour left demand a change of direction – why their intervention matters |url= http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/01/labour-left-demand-change-direction-why-their-intervention-matters |access-date=5 April 2015 |work=New Statesman |location= London |date=26 January 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150412090810/http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/01/labour-left-demand-change-direction-why-their-intervention-matters |archive-date=12 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 9 February 2015, Cryer was elected, unopposed, to succeed [[David Watts, Baron Watts|Dave Watts]] as the [[Parliamentary Labour Party#Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party|Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url= http://labourlist.org/2015/02/john-cryer-is-the-new-chair-of-the-plp/ |title=John Cryer Is The New Chair Of The PLP |website=[[LabourList]] |date=9 February 2015 |access-date=10 February 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150210041057/http://labourlist.org/2015/02/john-cryer-is-the-new-chair-of-the-plp/ |archive-date=10 February 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On [[2015 United Kingdom general election|8 May 2015]], Cryer was re-elected as MP for the Leyton and Wanstead constituency with 58.6% of the vote. On [[2017 United Kingdom general election|8 June 2017]], he was re-elected as MP for the Leyton and Wanstead constituency with 69.8% of the vote.<ref name="bbc-2015">{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000790 |title=Leyton and Wanstead |publisher=BBC News |access-date=9 May 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150508050053/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000790 |archive-date=8 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 2019, following the BBC ''[[Panorama (British TV programme)|Panorama]]'' programme [[Panorama (TV programme)#Is Labour Anti-Semitic?|"Is Labour Antisemitic?"]], Cryer condemned his party's attack on former staff whistleblowers who had appeared in the programme as "a gross misjudgment".<ref name=gwhistle>{{cite news |first1=Rowena |last1=Mason |first2=Jessica |last2=Elgot |url= http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/15/labour-staffers-letter-jeremy-corbyn-whistleblowers |title=Corbyn under fire from staff and Labour peers over antisemitism |work=The Guardian |location= London |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190721174044/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/15/labour-staffers-letter-jeremy-corbyn-whistleblowers |date=15 July 2019 |archive-date=21 July 2019 }}</ref>

Cryer did not seek re-election as an MP at the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 general election]] held in July.<ref name=standingdown>{{cite news|title=John Cryer standing down as MP for Leyton and Wanstead
|url=https://walthamforestecho.co.uk/2024/05/27/john-cryer-standing-down-as-mp-for-leyton-and-wanstead/|work=Waltham Forest Echo|location=London|date=27 May 2024}}</ref> After being nominated in the [[2024 Dissolution Honours]], he was created '''Baron Cryer''', ''of Leyton in the London Borough of Waltham Forest'', on 15 August 2024.<ref>{{London Gazette |date=7 August 2024 |issue=64480 |page=15222 |supp=y}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dissolution Peerages 2024 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dissolution-peerages-2024 |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Whannel |first=Kate |date=4 July 2024 |title=Theresa May and 'bionic' MP awarded peerages |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c84975xgdwlo |publisher=BBC News |language=en |access-date=4 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |date=21 August 2024 |issue=64494 |page=16178}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
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.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jonny |last=Greatrex |url= http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/mp-tom-watson-finds-new-231324 |title=MP Tom Watson finds new love after break up of marriage |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141014111918/http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/mp-tom-watson-finds-new-231324 |archive-date=14 October 2014 |work=Birmingham Mail |date=26 August 2012 }}</ref> They have two sons, born in 2015 and 2019.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{Official website|http://www.johncryermp.co.uk/}}
*{{UK MP links | parliament = john-cryer/181 | hansard = mr-john-cryer | hansardcurr = <!-- 2791 --> | guardian = 11811/john-cryer | publicwhip = John_Cryer | theywork = john_cryer | record = John-Cryer/Leyton-and-Wanstead/1314 | bbc = 25579.stm | journalisted = }}
*[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2091044.stm Profile: John Cryer], ''[[BBC News]]'', 22 October 2002
*[http://www.leytonandwansteadlabour.org.uk/ Leyton & Wanstead Labour] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303015627/http://www.leytonandwansteadlabour.org.uk/ |date=3 March 2018 }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Robin Squire]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament<br />for [[Hornchurch (UK Parliament constituency)|Hornchurch]]|years=[[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]]–[[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[James Brokenshire]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Harry Cohen]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament<br />for [[Leyton and Wanstead]]|years=[[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010]]–[[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Calvin Bailey]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[David Watts, Baron Watts|David Watts]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[Parliamentary Labour Party]]|years=2015–2024}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jessica Morden]]}}
{{s-prec|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Kevan Jones|The Lord Beamish]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom|Gentlemen]]'''<br />''Baron Cryer'' '''}}
{{s-fol|after=[[Baron Elliott of Ballinamallard |The Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard ]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{UK Labour Party}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cryer, John}}
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century English journalists]]
[[Category:21st-century English journalists]]
[[Category:Alumni of the London College of Printing]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:British Eurosceptics]]
[[Category:Cryer–Reeves family|John]]
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting]]
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) life peers]]
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) officials]]
[[Category:Life peers created by Charles III]]
[[Category:People from Darwen]]
[[Category:Politicians from Lancashire]]
[[Category:Spouses of British politicians]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1997–2001]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2001–2005]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2010–2015]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2015–2017]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2017–2019]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2019–2024]]
[[Category:UK MPs who were granted peerages]]