Kevin Brennan

Kevin Denis Brennan (born 16 October 1959) is a Welsh Labour politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff West since 2001.

He was educated at St Alban's RC High School in Pontypool and Pembroke College, Oxford, graduating with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1982.

Brennan was elected President of the Oxford Union in the same year with support from William Hague, who preferred Brennan's candidacy over those from the left of the Conservative faction in the Union.

In 1982, Brennan joined the Cwmbran Community Press as a journalist.

He joined the National Union of Teachers in 1984 before becoming a teacher at Radyr Comprehensive School in 1985.

After graduation, he returned to Wales to study at the University College of Wales, Cardiff, where he qualified as a teacher with a Postgraduate Certificate in Education in history in 1985.

Between 1991 and 2001, Brennan was a member of Cardiff Council representing the ward of Canton, Cardiff.

During this time he served as Chair of the Finance Committee, Chair of the Economic Scrutiny Committee and Vice-Chair of Economic Development.

He finished his education with a master's degree in Education Management at the University of Glamorgan (now the University of South Wales) in 1992.

He became the Head of the Economics Department before leaving in 1994.

Following Rhodri Morgan's decision to step down as the Member of Parliament for Cardiff West in order to concentrate on being the First Minister of Wales, Brennan was selected as the Labour candidate for the constituency and became the MP for Cardiff West at the 2001 general election.

He won with a majority of 11,321 votes, (33.3%).

In July 2002, Brennan appeared in the House of Commons without a tie and called for Westminster to have "dress down" Thursdays, stating that Billy Bragg had complained Parliamentarians gave a "besuited image that's male, pale and stale".

It provoked jeers from some Conservative MPs. Michael Fabricant expressed concern about Brennan not wearing a tie and made a point of order to the Speaker, Michael Martin, who agreed with Fabricant.

Brennan was forced to leave the chamber to retrieve a tie from his office.

In July 2002, the steel manufacturer Allied Steel and Wire (ASW) entered receivership, and many of their employees were told they would not receive their full company pensions because of a fund shortfall.

Brennan, who had many former workers of Allied Steel & Wire as constituents, tabled an early day motion in the Commons in November calling for compensation, and threatened to table an amendment to the Pensions Bill if the government did not offer any help.

After Brennan carried out his threat to table the amendment, The Independent newspaper reported that Tony Blair faced the "biggest backbench rebellion" of his career.

Brennan was re-elected as the MP for Cardiff West at the 2005 general election with a reduced majority of 8,167 (23.6%).

This included a -4.8% swing from Brennan to the Conservative Party candidate.

After the general election, he was promoted to Tony Blair's government as an Assistant Government Whip.

Brennan held several junior ministerial offices from 2006 to 2009 at the Treasury, Cabinet Office and Department for Children, Schools and Families.

In June 2007, Blair's successor Gordon Brown appointed Brennan as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Young People and Families in the new Department for Children, Schools and Families, replacing Parmjit Dhanda.

Brennan was replaced in this role by Lady Morgan following the government reshuffle in October 2008.

He served as a Minister of State at both the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Children, Schools and Families from 2009 to 2010.

He was moved to Minister for the Third Sector at the Cabinet Office before being promoted in 2009, becoming the Minister of State for Further Education, Skills, Apprenticeships and Consumer Affairs, with responsibilities in both the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

In opposition, he served in various shadow ministerial positions from 2010 to 2020 as a Shadow Minister for BIS, Education, and Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

He has been Shadow Minister for Victims and Sentencing since September 2023.

Brennan was born in Cwmbran, South Wales, the son of a steelworker and a school dinner lady.

Following the 2010 General Election, he continued this role in a Shadow Ministerial capacity before Ed Miliband's decision to appoint Brennan to the position of Shadow Minister for Schools.

At the 2010 general election, Brennan was again re-elected as the MP for Cardiff West with a reduced majority of 4,750 votes.

In 2010, Brennan became the first MP to win the British Computer Society's (BCS) Social Media MP of the year award, beating Nick Clegg and Jeremy Corbyn, who both finished as runners-up.

At the 2015 general election, Brennan was again re-elected as the MP for Cardiff West with an increased majority of 6,789 votes.

Brennan was made Shadow Minister for Trade, Investment, and Intellectual Property by Jeremy Corbyn in September 2015.

He resigned from this position on 28 June 2016, following a motion of no confidence in Corbyn which was passed overwhelmingly by Labour MPs, 172–40, in a vote which was not binding.

Brennan supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election.

At the snap 2017 general election, Brennan was again re-elected as MP for Cardiff West with an increased majority of 12,551 votes.

At the 2019 general election, Brennan was again re-elected as the MP for Cardiff West with a reduced majority of 10,986 votes.

Brennan supported Lisa Nandy in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election.

In the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, he returned to the frontbench as Shadow Minister for Victims and Sentencing.