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Peter Kyle

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The Right Honourable
Peter Kyle
MP
Official portrait, 2024
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 July 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded byMichelle Donelan
Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
In office
4 September 2023 – 5 July 2024
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byAndrew Griffith
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office
29 November 2021 – 4 September 2023
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byLouise Haigh
Succeeded byHilary Benn
Shadow Minister for Schools
In office
14 May 2021 – 29 November 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byWes Streeting
Succeeded byStephen Morgan
Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice
In office
9 April 2020 – 14 May 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byAnna McMorrin
Member of Parliament
for Hove and Portslade
Hove (2015–2024)
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byMike Weatherley
Majority19,881 (38.1%)
Personal details
Born
Peter John Kyle

(1970-09-09) 9 September 1970 (age 54)
West Sussex, England
Political partyLabour
EducationFelpham Comprehensive School,[1] West Sussex
Alma materUniversity of Sussex
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website
Academic background
ThesisBuilding capacity for community economic development: the case of the Kat river valley, South Africa (2004)

Peter John Kyle (born 9 September 1970) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology since July 2024.[2] A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hove and Portslade, formerly Hove, since 2015. Kyle previously served as Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice, Shadow Minister for Schools, and Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary.

Early life and career

[edit]

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.[1] It was at school that he found out he had dyslexia and left school, in his own words, "without any usable qualifications".[1] By the age of 25, he was accepted on his third attempt to become a student at the University of Sussex, where he gained a degree in geography, international development, and environmental studies, and later a doctorate in community development.[1]

After university, Kyle worked as an aid worker and as a project director for the charity Children on the Edge in Eastern Europe and the Balkans helping young people whose lives had been affected by the political instability created by the Bosnian War and Kosovan War, helping to establish an orphanage in Romania.[3][4][5]

In 2006, Kyle became a Cabinet Office special adviser focusing on social exclusion policy.[4]

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.[6]

Parliamentary career

[edit]

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.[7][8][9]

Kyle backed Liz Kendall in the 2015 Labour leadership election,[10] and supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour leadership election.[11]

In December 2015, Kyle voted in favour of the United Kingdom carrying out targeted air strikes against Islamic State in Syria.[12][13] He was subsequently the subject of harassment and intimidation by anti-war activists who sent him a picture of a dead baby. In response he said, "People have put deep thought and a lot of anguish into this decision and are taking a very principled stance. We need to have respect for each other's views on this".[14][15]

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.[16]

He campaigned for remaining in the European Union during the 2016 Brexit referendum.[17] In 2018, he rebelled against the Conservative government and the Labour Party whip in order to vote in favour of an amendment which would have kept the United Kingdom in the European Economic Area (EEA) in the event of the country leaving the European Union.[18]

Kyle has championed apprenticeships, 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.[19][20]

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.[21][22]

In May 2018 Kyle called for the voting age to be lowered to 16 and put forward his own bill to this effect.[23] The bill failed to pass after the Conservative Party employed a filibuster to prevent a vote on the bill being held in the House of Commons.[24][25]

In March 2019, alongside fellow Labour MP Phil Wilson, Kyle put forward an amendment to Theresa May's Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.[26] 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.[27] Whilst failing to pass twice in the House of Commons, it came 12 votes short on its second attempt.[28] 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.[29] Alongside deputy leader of the Labour Party Tom Watson, Kyle advocated for this position to become Labour policy.[30][31][32]

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.[33][34][35]

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".[36]

Kyle endorsed Jess Phillips in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election.[37]

In September 2020, Kyle was appointed a vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel.[38] A vocal critic of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour party, in a 2019 meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, he challenged Corbyn "to consider what it is about his world view – separate from a political platform – that has attracted these people into our party in the first place."[39] He also signed an open letter to the Jewish Labour Movement pledging to stamp out antisemitism in the Labour Party, and "urges members of the group not to leave the party and apologises for letting its Jewish supporters down."[40] He endorsed the publication of the report by the EHRC which concluded that the Labour Party was guilty of breaches of the Equality Act 2010 in relation to antisemitism and apologised to the Jewish community. In 2014 Kyle attended a party delegation to Israel and the Palestinian Territories along with Dame Tessa Jowell and others party figures.[41]

In the aftermath of the October 7th Hamas massacre in Israel, Kyle condemned the Hamas atrocities. On 23 November 2023, he attended and spoke at the March Against Antisemitism in London along with Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and Conservative MP Robert Jenrick.[42] In December he said that "This is something we must never forget. The Hamas terror attack was done in order to stop processes leading to peaceful existence, not to deliver one. They have sought to wreck any chance of peace. That can't be allowed to happen".[43]

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.[44]

Due to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Kyle's constituency of Hove was abolished, and replaced with Hove and Portslade. At the 2024 general election, Kyle was elected to Parliament as MP for Hove and Portslade with 52.4% of the vote and a majority of 19,881.[45]

Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice

[edit]

In April 2020, he became the Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice.[46] 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.[47]

In February 2021,[48] 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.[49][50]

Shadow Minister for Schools

[edit]

In a minor Labour reshuffle in May 2021, Kyle was promoted to succeed Wes Streeting as the Shadow Minister for Schools.[51]

Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary

[edit]

He was appointed Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary in the November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle.[52]

Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology

[edit]

Peter Kyle was appointed as Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology in September 2023.

In October 2023 at the Labour Party Conference, Kyle said that a future Labour government would reduce regulations on technology companies in the development and use of Artificial Intelligence and "put it to work for everyone from every background."[53] This led to some resistance by trade unions over concerns about intellectual property and the risk of "rampant profiteering".[53]

In November 2023, Kyle outlined Labour policies to impose stricter regulations on general artificial intelligence research companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic with stronger requirements for reporting, data-sharing, and user safety.[54] Kyle has also proposed the creation of a 'Regulatory Innovation office', which would expedite important regulatory decisions, the use of 10-year research and development budget settlement, in order to ensure stable long-term private investment, and a new body called 'Skills England', which would bring together "representatives of tertiary education, local and central government with representatives from business leaders and trade unions. In addition to strategic oversight of skills needs across England, the new body will also be responsible for assessing bids for colleges to become 'Technical Excellence Colleges'."[55]

In February 2024, Kyle announced that Labour would scrap the existing voluntary testing agreement between technology companies and the British government, instead creating a statutory regime in which Artificial Intelligence businesses would be required to share with the government the results of their test data.[56] He claimed that this would enable the government to better understand the risks involved in AI and the challenges it could pose to different industries and society in general. He also met with representatives of the United States government and AI companies in Washington, United States, including Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Google, Apple, OpenAI, and Anthropic.[57]

Peter Kyle has endorsed the use of artificial intelligence technology to improve public services, including in the National Health Service and British education system.[58] He also said that "I have seen AI tools which I believe would have caught my mum's cancer earlier. It is personal for me to get this technology used in a way which keeps families together for longer. UK businesses can benefit hugely from the innovation this latest wave of technology can bring."[58]

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology

[edit]

Following the Labour Party's victory in the 2024 United Kingdom general election, he was appointed to cabinet as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology at the subsequent formation of the Starmer ministry.

Personal life

[edit]

From 2016 to 2017 Kyle was chair of governors of Brighton Aldridge Community Academy.[59][60]

For eight years he was in a relationship with Czech-born Vlastimil Tiser, until Tiser's death in 2012.[61] His mother died of cancer the following day.[62] He said in an interview with The Times that "2012, the year of the Olympics, one of the best years for many people, was the worst year of my life. [...] I was on autopilot. There was constant adrenaline. Then afterwards, silence."[61]

Kyle was sworn of the Privy Council on 10 July 2024, entitling him to be styled "The Right Honourable" for life.[63]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Harry Bullmore (28 October 2019). "Peter Kyle reveals he has dyslexia after abuse over spelling". The Argus. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Ministerial Appointments: July 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Hove MP shares his experience of working in aid camps in Commons debate". Brighton and Hove News. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  4. ^ a b Andrews, Chris (30 November 2021). "Peter Kyle: Who is new shadow Northern Ireland secretary?". BBC News. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  5. ^ le Duc, Frank (14 May 2013). "Brighton's next Labour leader?". Latest TV Brighton. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  6. ^ Ainsworth, David (5 August 2013). "Peter Kyle to leave Acevo later this year". Third Sector. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  7. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Election results for Hove". city council web site. Brighton & Hove Council. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  9. ^ "Dr Peter Kyle Selected As Labour's Parliamentary Candidate For Hove and Portslade". Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  10. ^ Vowles, Neil (13 August 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn would be an "electoral disaster" for the Labour party says Hove MP". The Argus. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  11. ^ Pope, Conor (21 July 2016). "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  12. ^ Stone, Jon (3 December 2015). "The 66 Labour MPs who voted for bombing in Syria listed". The Independent. ISSN 1741-9743. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  13. ^ Brumfield, Ben; Jordan, Carol (2 December 2015). "Britain launches airstrikes hours after Parliament backs ISIS bombings". CNN. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  14. ^ Dominiczak, Peter; Riley-Smith, Ben (1 December 2015). "David Cameron tells Tory MPs: Ignore the 'terrorist sympathisers' and vote for Syrian bombing". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  15. ^ Richards, Victoria (5 January 2016). "Peter Kyle MP is sent photograph of dead baby over support for Syria air strikes". The Independent. ISSN 1741-9743. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  16. ^ Armstrong, Ashley (23 May 2016). "Mike Ashley: MP must resign from Sports Direct inquiry". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  17. ^ Kyle, Peter (25 June 2018). "Peter Kyle: Brexit is a big deal – but it is not a done deal". LabourList. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  18. ^ Kyle, Peter (16 June 2018). "Why I rebelled on the latest Brexit vote by Peter Kyle". Brighton and Hove News. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  19. ^ Kyle, Peter (11 March 2016). "Peter Kyle: Championing apprenticeships in Hove and Portslade". Brighton & Hove Independent. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  20. ^ "1,000 Apprenticeships | Brighton & Hove City Council". brighton-hove.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  21. ^ le Duc, Frank (20 April 2017). "MPs fire the election starting gun – and the contest begins in Brighton and Hove". Brighton and Hove News. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  22. ^ "Tories lose Eastbourne and Kemptown but Rudd holds on in Hastings". BBC News. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  23. ^ Kyle, Peter. "Representation of the People (Young People's Enfranchisement) Bill 2017–19". Parliament UK.
  24. ^ Murphy, Joe; Proctor, Kate (15 February 2018). "Voting age could be cut to 16 before next general election, Tory says". Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  25. ^ "Votes at 16 blocked by Government in 'corrupt and unfair filibuster'". Jersey Evening Post. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  26. ^ Kentish, Benjamin (2 March 2019). "What is the Kyle-Wilson amendment that could deliver a fresh Brexit referendum?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  27. ^ Kyle, Peter; Wilson, Phil (17 March 2019). "Only our Compromise can Break the Brexit Impasse". The Guardian. ISSN 1756-3224. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  28. ^ "Peter Kyle's motion E (Confirmatory public vote)". British Houses of Parliament. 1 April 2019. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  29. ^ Fraser, Tali (21 September 2019). "Labour MPs vow to revive Commons push for a second referendum in bid to end Brexit 'crisis'". Politics Home. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  30. ^ Stewart, Heather (24 February 2019). "Tom Watson urges Corbyn to get a grip on Labour 'crisis'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  31. ^ Stewart, Heather; Boffey, Daniel; Sabbagh, Dan (21 February 2019). "Jeremy Corbyn inching closer to backing a second referendum". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  32. ^ Cecil, Nicholas; Murphy, Joe; Proctor, Kate (30 April 2019). "Labour deputy leader walks out of shadow cabinet over new Brexit vote". Evening Standard. ISSN 2041-4404. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  33. ^ Raw, Geoff (14 November 2019). "Statement of persons nominated and notice of poll. Election of a Member of Parliament for Hove Constituency" (PDF). Brighton and Hove City Council.
  34. ^ "Historical Data and Plots".
  35. ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  36. ^ Bullmore, Harry (14 December 2019). "'Labour will dwindle into terminal irrelevance' – Re-elected Labour MP urges Corbyn to stand down". The Argus. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  37. ^ "Peter Kyle on Twitter: "Jess... can count on my nomination"". Twitter. 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  38. ^ Harpin, Lee (9 September 2020). "Labour Friends of Israel announces six new vice-chairs". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  39. ^ Elgot, Jessica; Stewart, Heather (22 July 2019). "Jeremy Corbyn ramps up plans to expel antisemites from party". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  40. ^ Bullmore, Harry (7 March 2019). "Hove's Labour MP signs pledge to end anti-Semitism – but Kemptown's MP is not on the list". The Argus. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  41. ^ "LFI leads a delegation of Labour PPCs and MPs to Israel and the Palestinian territories". Labour Friends of Israel. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  42. ^ Kadri, Anisa; Williams, Nathan (26 November 2023). "Thousands march against antisemitism in London". BBC News. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  43. ^ Harpin, Lee (12 December 2023). "'Never forget Hamas want to wreck hopes of peace for Palestinians', says Labour's Kyle". Jewish News. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  44. ^ Nevett, Joshua (25 September 2022). "Labour can't win election with Brexit negativity, shadow minister says". BBC News. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  45. ^ "Hove and Portslade - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  46. ^ Rogers, Sienna (9 April 2020). "Shadow ministers appointed as Starmer completes frontbench". LabourList. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  47. ^ "Sex-For-Rent: Landlords named and shamed in newspaper sting". Landlord Today. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  48. ^ "Victims of Crime and Anti-social Behaviour, Etc (Rights, Entitlements and Related Matters) – Tuesday 9 February 2021 – Hansard – UK Parliament". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  49. ^ "Victims of Crime and Anti-social Behaviour, Etc (Rights, Entitlements and Related Matters) Bill 2019–21 — UK Parliament". services.parliament.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  50. ^ "Victims of crimes 're-traumatised' by system". BBC News. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  51. ^ Rodgers, Sienna (14 May 2021). "Reshuffle: Keir Starmer's new Labour frontbench in full". LabourList. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  52. ^ "Peter Kyle profile: NI's new Shadow Secretary replacing Louise Haigh an advocate for dyslexia and EU supporter". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  53. ^ a b Manancourt, Vincent; Bristow, Tom; Clarke, Laurie (12 October 2023). "Friend or foe: Labour's looming battle on AI". Politico. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  54. ^ Dawood, Sarah (28 November 2023). "Will Labour grasp the opportunities of new technology?". The New Statesman. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  55. ^ Corbett, Mark (16 October 2023). "Insights from the Labour Party Conference 2023 – London Higher". Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  56. ^ Milmo, Dan (4 February 2024). "Labour would force AI firms to share their technology's test data". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  57. ^ Daly, Patrick (3 February 2024). "Labour's Peter Kyle set for AI talks with tech giants during Washington visit". Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  58. ^ a b Daly, Patrick (3 February 2024). "Labour's Peter Kyle set for AI talks with tech giants during Washington visit". The Independent. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  59. ^ "Brighton Aldridge Community Academy – Section 13 – Governors' Information and Duties". www.baca-uk.org.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  60. ^ le Duc, Frank (12 July 2017). "MP steps down as chair of governors at Brighton school". Brighton and Hove News. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  61. ^ a b Thomson, Alice (28 September 2023). "Peter Kyle: It was 5am. A woman said, 'Your partner is dead.'". The Times. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  62. ^ Green, Daniel (3 October 2023). "Peter Kyle reflects on grief of losing partner and mother within days". The Argus. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  63. ^ "List of Business – 10 July 2024" (PDF). Privy Council Office. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Hove
2015–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
2024–present 		Incumbent
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