Peter Kyle

He sat on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee between 2016 and 2020, where 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.[6]

Kyle is the co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Southern Rail.

He campaigned for remain during the EU membership referendum, 2016. In June 2018, he said "Brexit is a big deal but it's not a done deal".[7] In March 2019,[8] alongside fellow Labour MP Phil Wilson, Kyle put forward an amendment to Theresa May's Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. 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.[9] Whilst failing to pass twice in the House of Commons, it came closest to a majority; only 12 votes short on its second attempt.[10] Both Kyle and Wilson signalled that they would bring back the amendment if Boris Johnson was to return with a Brexit deal in October 2019.[11]

In September 2020, Kyle was appointed a vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel.[12]

In April 2020, he became the Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice.[13] 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.[14]

In February 2021,[15] 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.[16][17]

In a minor Labour reshuffle in May 2021, Kyle was promoted to succeed Wes Streeting as the Shadow Minister for Schools.[18]

He was appointed Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary in the November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle.[19]

Kyle backed Liz Kendall in the 2015 Labour leadership election,[20] and supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour leadership election.[21]

He was in favour of the UK remaining in the European Union. In February 2019, he drafted an amendment to accept the government's Brexit deal on the basis it would go to a public vote as a second referendum. Alongside deputy leader Tom Watson, he advocated for this position to become Labour policy.[22][23][24] 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 Corbyn's incompetent leadership.[25]

He has championed apprenticeships,[26] pledging 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.[27]

He has called for the voting age to be lowered to 16 and put forward his own bill on the subject in 2017.[28]

He endorsed Jess Phillips in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election.[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]