Sir Chris Bryant, known for his expressive interventions and pop culture references, is the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. He replaces Hilary Benn who was in the role for just over two years and did not keep his position when Prime Minister Andy Burnham entered No 10 on Monday.
With a number of issues on Sir Chris’ in-tray, including a budget crisis at Stormont and contentious Troubles Legacy legislation, the confident and media-savvy MP faces a big task in his first Cabinet-level role.
Background and Parliamentary Career
Sir Chris is the MP for Rhondda and Ogmore in south Wales and has become famous for his larger-than-life parliamentary appearances and creative analogies, as well as being unafraid to speak out on policy. He was born in Cardiff and before entering politics served as an Anglican priest, a career he left due to the Church of England’s position on homosexuality.
An experienced parliamentarian, he was first elected in 2001 and served as a Parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to Labour heavyweights Charlie Falconer and Harriet Harman. He became a junior minister under Gordon Brown in 2008, serving as deputy leader of the House of Commons.
In Labour’s years in opposition, he held various shadow ministerial positions, but resigned from the shadow cabinet in 2016 in protest at Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership and his handling of the Brexit campaign. He was a loud voice in the Remain campaign and subsequent parliamentary debates, saying Russian president Vladimir Putin had ordered interference in the referendum, and calling clauses in the government’s European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, “the biggest peace time power grab” over Parliament in 100 years.
Sir Chris ran to be Commons Speaker in 2019, but was beaten by party colleague Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
Recent Roles and Views
Since Labour’s return to Government, he served as junior minister in the culture, media and sport department and in the department of science, innovation and technology, as well business and trade. He was a key spokesperson for the Government on the Data (Use and Access) Bill, attempting to balance concerns of those in the creative industry with the pressure from big tech, in debates on AI and copyright legislation.
Sir Chris has been unafraid to speak out on a number of issues while on the front bench, for example saying US president Donald Trump was “wrong” to say it is dangerous for the UK to trade with China, and it would “absolutely bonkers” not to do so.
He has been open about his past and his sexuality, telling the Commons during a Pride Month debate in 2025: “I should start by declaring an interest in this Pride debate. The Daily Mail once referred to me as an ‘ex-gay vicar’. I am an ex-vicar, but the other stuff is coming along quite nicely. In fact, I am a practising homosexual — one day I will be quite good at it.”
As a trade minister during a debate this year on the UK-Switzerland Enhanced Free Trade Agreement, he said: “I would just add one thing: to quote one of the greatest philosophers of our era, ‘when the going gets tough, the tough reinvent’, which is precisely what we are doing. That, of course, was RuPaul.”
Some other memorable contributions from Sir Chris include reading AI generated Adele song lyrics, wishing Commons Speaker John Bercow happy “kiss a ginger day”, and offering to build a statue of prime minister David Cameron in Wales if he promised to match EU funding to the country lost as a result of Brexit.
Sir Chris was knighted in the 2023 New Year Honours for political and public service.
