Sir Christopher John Bryant (born 11 January 1962) is a British politician and former Anglican priest who has served asMember of Parliament (MP) forRhondda and Ogmore, and previouslyRhondda, since2001. A member of theLabour Party, he was theMinister of State for Data Protection and Telecoms andMinister of State for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism from 2024 to 2025.[1][2]
Born inCardiff, Bryant was privately educated atCheltenham College before studying English atMansfield College, Oxford. After graduating with a further degree intheology, he worked as aChurch of England priest, as well as having roles at theBBC andCommon Purpose. He was elected for Rhondda at the2001 general election.
He previously served in government asDeputy Leader of the House of Commons from 2008 to 2009 andUnder-Secretary of State for Europe and Asia from 2009 to 2010. Bryant served in theShadow Cabinet asShadow Culture Secretary in 2015 andShadow Leader of the House of Commons from 2015 to 2016, before resigning in protest atJeremy Corbyn's leadership.
Chris Bryant was born on 11 January 1962 inCardiff, to a Scottish mother and a Welsh father. Bryant grew up in Cardiff (where his father worked for five years), Spain for five years in the 1960s (leading to him speaking fluent Spanish),[3][4] andCheltenham, Gloucestershire.[5] He was educated atCheltenham College, anindependent school for boys.
He studied English atMansfield College, Oxford, graduating with aBachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1986.[6] Although initially a member of theConservative Party, and an elected office-holder in theOxford University Conservative Association, he joined the Labour Party in 1986.
From 1983 to 1986, after completing his first degree, Bryant trained for ordained ministry atRipon College Cuddesdon in Oxfordshire. During this time, he also studiedtheology at Oxford. He wasordained in theChurch of England as adeacon in 1986 byRichard Harries, and as apriest in 1987.[6][7] The first service he led following this ordination was the funeral ofMichael Croft, the founder of the National Youth Theatre; he had also once sexually abused Bryant.[7] He served hiscuracy at the Church of All Saints,High Wycombe from 1986 to 1989. He was then a youth chaplain inPeterborough, as well as travelling in Latin America.[4] In 1991, Bryant left the ordained ministry, after deciding that being gay was incompatible with being a priest. Statements made byBishop of OxfordRichard Harries also influenced his decision.[4]
After leaving the priesthood in 1991, Bryant made a career move and began work as the election agent to theHolborn and St PancrasConstituency Labour Party, where he helpedFrank Dobson hold his seat in the1992 general election. From 1993, he was Local Government Officer for the Labour Party; he lived inHackney and was elected to Hackney Borough Council in 1993, representing Leabridge ward and serving until 1998.[8][9] He became Chairman of theChristian Socialist Movement.[4] From 1994 to 1996, he was London manager of the charityCommon Purpose.[10]
In 1996, Bryant became a full-time author, writing biographies ofStafford Cripps andGlenda Jackson.
From 1998 until his election to Parliament in 2001, Bryant was the Head of European Affairs for theBBC.[10]
At the1997 general election, Bryant was theLabour candidate forWycombe, winning 35.4% of the vote and coming second behind the incumbentConservative MPRay Whitney.[11]
Bryant's selection for the very safe Labour seat ofRhondda in South Wales in 2000 surprised many people given his background – gay, a formerAnglican cleric, and someone who had been a Conservative as a student. He says of his surprise selection, "I fell off the chair, and my opponents certainly did". Fifty-two people applied for the candidature and a local councillor was the favourite to win.[4] Bryant was elected as MP forRhondda at the2001 general election with a majority of 16,047 and 68.3% of the vote.[12][13]
In 2003, Bryantvoted for participation in theIraq war.[14][15] He is a member of theLabour Friends of Israel[16] andLabour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East group.[17]
From 2004 until 2007, Bryant was chairman of theLabour Movement for Europe.
At the2005 general election, Bryant was re-elected with a decreased vote share of 68.1% but an increased majority of 16,242.[18][19]
On 5 September 2006, withSiôn Simon, he coordinated a prominent letter which was signed by 15 Labour backbenchers calling forTony Blair's immediate resignation.[20]
Bryant was theParliamentary private secretary to theSecretary of State for Constitutional AffairsCharlie Falconer. InGordon Brown's autumn 2008 reshuffle, Bryant was promoted from his role asParliamentary Private Secretary toHarriet Harman to the ministerial position of DeputyLeader of the House of Commons otherwise known as Parliamentary Secretary to the House of Commons. This was followed by another move in the June 2009 reshuffle, when he moved to theForeign and Commonwealth Office as theParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. On 13 October 2009, he was also appointedMinister for Europe.[21]
On 11 March 2003, as part of an inquiry into Privacy and Press Intrusion by the Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport, he askedRebekah Wade (now Brooks) whether she had ever paid police officers for information. Seated besideAndy Coulson, the editor of theNews of the World, she said 'yes'. Bryant had his phone hacked later that year by theNews of the World, a fact which became known to the Metropolitan Police when they seized material from the private investigatorGlenn Mulcaire.[22] Bryant, along withJohn Prescott andBrian Paddick, sought judicial review of the Metropolitan Police in an attempt to force them to contact all the victims of phone hacking by theNews of the World. The Metropolitan Police accepted their liability and he won damages of £30,000 from News International in 2012.[23]
Bryant called for and led the parliamentary debates on referring the phone hacking scandal to theStandards and Privileges Committee on 9 September 2010, and the Emergency Debate on whether there should be a judge led enquiry on 6 July 2011 which led to the setting up of theLeveson Inquiry.[24]
Bryant claimed over £92,000 in expenses over the five years leading up to the 2009scandal over MPs' expenses.[25] During that time heflipped his second home twice. He claimed mortgage interest expenses that started at £7,800 per year before rising (after flipping) to £12,000 per year. He also claimed £6,400 in stamp duty and other fees on his most recent purchase, and £6,000 per year in service charges.[26]
At the2010 general election, Bryant was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 55.3% and a decreased majority of 11,553.[27][28]
In October 2010, Bryant stood as one of 49 candidates for election to the 19 places in the Shadow Cabinet in the internal Labour Party poll, receiving 77 votes, 29th position on the list.
In October 2010, Bryant described the coalition government's housing benefit reforms as poorer people "being socially engineered and sociologically cleansed out of London". The use of the term "cleansing" was criticised by members of the coalition, including deputy prime ministerNick Clegg, who called Bryant's comment "offensive to people who had witnessed ethnic cleansing in other parts of the world".[29]
In 2011, in the House of Commons, he criticised the thenPrince Andrew for a number of alleged indiscretions.[30]
Bryant won theStonewall Politician of the Year Award in 2011 for his work to support equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people.[31] He was given a score of 100% in favour of lesbian, gay and bisexual equality by Stonewall.[32] On 5 February 2013, he voted in favour in the House of Commons Second Reading vote on same-sex marriage in Britain.[33]
Following the Russianannexation of Crimea in 2014, Bryant told the Commons 'I am afraid that the international response... has thus far been pitiful and spineless. People have even trotted out in this Chamber the argument that most of the people in Crimea are Russian speaking and wanted to join Russia in the first place. Can Members not hear history running through the decades?... There has been little honour in the way that Britain, France and the United States, having signed up to the Budapest memorandum, which guaranteed the territorial integrity of Ukraine, now make lots of great speeches but introduce the measliest level of sanctions and targeted interventions against Russian individuals... A Russian friend of mine says that Putin is not yet mad. That may be true, but what will our surrendering and our appeasement do for his sanity?'[34]
In December 2014, Bryant was moved from Shadow Minister for Welfare Reform to Shadow Minister for the Arts.[35] In this position, he suggested in January 2015 that too many successful artists such as "James Blunt and their ilk" had been educated at private schools, and that he wanted to see more encouragement for the arts for people from a variety of backgrounds, even though Bryant himself attended a private school. Blunt said that Bryant was a "narrow-minded 'classist gimp' who was motivated by the 'politics of jealousy'"; Bryant responded by claiming that Blunt should not be "so blooming precious" and that he was not "knocking [his] success" but attempting to draw attention to the lack of diversity in the arts.[36]
At the2015 general election, Bryant was again re-elected with a decreased vote share of 50.7% and a decreased majority of 7,455.[37][38][39]
In September 2015, followingJeremy Corbyn'selection as Labour Party leader, Bryant was appointedShadow Leader of the House of Commons. Heresigned from this position on 26 June 2016,[40] along with other shadow ministers after the Brexit vote.[41] He supportedOwen Smith in the failed attempt to replaceJeremy Corbyn in the2016 Labour Party leadership election.[42]
He supported Remain in theEU referendum in June 2016 and voted against the triggering ofArticle 50 in February 2017.[43]
In January 2017, as ex-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for Russia, Bryant claimed that the Russian government orchestrated ahomophobic campaign to remove him from this position, saying that the Russian government has acquiredkompromat on high-profileConservative Party MPs includingBoris Johnson,Liam Fox,Alan Duncan andDavid Davis.[44]
On 12 January 2017, Bryant bemused his fellow MPs and Speaker of the HouseJohn Bercow, when he wished Bercow happy "kiss a ginger day", during business questions.[45]
At the snap2017 general election, Bryant was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 64.1% and an increased majority of 13,746.[46][47][48]
Following the general election in 2017, Bryant came first in the ballot for Private Members Bills, and after consulting his constituents introduced the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill, which introduced a new offence of assaulting an emergency worker. It received royal assent on 13 November 2018 as theAssaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018.
In November 2017, Bryant called for the arrest[49] of thePresident of the United States,Donald Trump, if he travels to the United Kingdom, after the President shared a comment on thesocial media websiteTwitter from a member of thefar-right groupBritain First that related to radicalIslamic events. Bryant stated: "The Prime Minister should make it absolutely clear that ifDonald Trump comes to this country he'll be arrested for inciting religious hatred and therefore he'd be better off not coming at all."[50]
FollowingJohn Bercow's resignation asSpeaker of the House of Commons on 31 October 2019, Bryant stood in theelection for a new speaker[51] on 4 November 2019, losing toLindsay Hoyle by 213 to 325.[52]
At the2019 general election, Bryant was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 54.4% and a decreased majority of 11,440.[53][54][55]
In May 2020, Bryant was elected as the Chair of theCommons Select Committee on Standards andCommons Select Committee of Privileges, .[56] In October 2021, he chaired the Standards Committee's decision on the sanction to be applied toOwen Paterson for breaching lobbying rules relating to paid advocacy which triggered theparliamentary second jobs controversy.[57] In April 2022, due to having already expressed views about thePartygate scandal, Bryant recused himself from the subsequent investigation by the Privileges Committee into whetherBoris Johnson had committedcontempt of parliament over statements to the House of Commons concerning alleged parties.[58]
Bryant came tenth in the Private Members Bill ballot in the 2021–2022 Session of Parliament and introduced the Acquired Brain Injury Bill on 10 November 2021, which would require the Government to produce, implement and review a national strategy for acquired brain injury. He withdrew the Bill when the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,Sajid Javid, announced that Bryant andGillian Keegan, the minister for Care and Mental Health, would co-chair a cross-government programme board to draw up a national strategy in December 2021. Keegan said: “All Government departments are invited to join the board. The strategy will be kept under review and revised periodically, to ensure it continues to reflect the priority areas and actions needed to support those living with ABI, and their families.”[59]
In December 2021, Bryant told the BBC in an interview that he felt "less physically safe as a gay man than he did 30 years ago." While denying thatBoris Johnson himself was homophobic, he accused those around him of being happy to "stir the pot." As evidence, he cited the government's stance ontransgender people and their attitude towards conversion therapy.[60]
Bryant campaigned for the UK Government to introduceMagnitsky Sanctions on those who abuse human rights around the world and co-chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Magnitsky Sanctions withSir Iain Duncan Smith MP and is a Member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. He is a Fellow of theSociety of Antiquaries of London.
In the2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, he was appointed Shadow Minister for the Creative Industries and Digital.[61]
Bryant was elected MP for theRhondda and Ogmore constituency which replaced the former Rhondda seat at the 2024 general election.
In December 2020, Bryant became engaged in a row with the Commons speaker,Lindsay Hoyle. The disturbance started with Bryant heckling the Prime Minister while standing near to a door. The Speaker informed Bryant that social distancing rules meant he needed to move and he then instructed Bryant to sit in one of the seats intended for use by MPs. Some of those present thought that Bryant then uttered an offensive expletive back to the Speaker although Bryant denied this. Bryant then exited the chamber of the Commons while the Speaker called for him. Some moments after the Speaker had denounced Bryant's "disgraceful behaviour", Bryant returned to the chamber to engage in what appeared to be a heated discussion with the speaker. Hoyle said: "Mr Bryant, I think we need to have this conversation later" and Bryant left the chamber.[62]
In March 2022 Bryant incorrectly claimed thatNigel Farage had been paid over £500,000 by the Russian state. In July 2023 he corrected the record.[63]
During a Channel 4 News interview, Bryant admitted that by delaying starting the SNP's February 2024 motion for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, "we brought ourselves terribly into disrepute." This is believed to have bought time for the Labour leader to have an unscheduled meeting with Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who then broke parliamentary convention, against the advice of his clerks, to benefit the Labour Party leader by allowing the party's amendment to be heard, so that MPs would not get the chance to formally vote on the SNP's motion.[64]
Following Bryant's admission, theSNP called for a "full independent investigation" into his comments, which they said proved Labour deliberately sought to derail their motion. MPKirsty Blackman criticised Bryant's comments, saying: "These damning revelations show Sir Keir Starmer pulled every dirty trick in the Westminster book to wreck the SNP's vote on an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel."[65]
Following the General Election in July 2024, he was appointed Minister of State for Data and Telecoms in the Department for Science Innovation and Technology and Minister of State for Creative Industries Arts and Tourism in the Department for Culture Media and Sport.
He was awarded an Ivors Academy Honour 'for his leadership in championing songwriters and composers during his time as Minister of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. He played a pivotal role in securing commitments from UK record labels to provide per diems for songwriters, ensuring that when they attend writing sessions and recording projects their basic costs are covered. This was a world first, and a hard-fought, long-overdue, practical change to help create a fairer and more sustainable industry.'https://ivorsacademy.com/news/eight-exceptional-individuals-celebrated-at-the-ivors-academy-honours/
In September 2025 he was made Minister for Trade in the Department of Business and Trade.
Bryant entered into acivil partnership with Jared Cranney on 27 March 2010 in the first such ceremony held in theHouses of Parliament.[4] They are now married. Bryant lives inPorth in theRhondda.[5]
He was ridiculed by the press in 2003 when he posted a picture of himself wearing only underpants on a gay dating site,Gaydar.[66] Bryant later reflected upon the affair, saying, "It was a wound but it's a rather charming scar now. I had a period when I barely slept and it was horrible, but I'm very lucky in having a supportive set of friends – MP friends and others – and they looked after me." At the time, the media predicted that he would not survive politically, and there was much talk of his possible deselection.[4] In 2013, he reflected on the incident, saying that the whole affair actually boosted his majority as an MP.[67]
On 25 September 2006,The Guardian ran four spoof diary articles called "Chris Bryant's Manchester Diary", followed by a clarification that they were parodies not written by Bryant.[68]
In March 2019, Bryant said that he had undergone surgery forstage threemelanoma, askin cancer.[69] In May 2024, Bryant announced that his cancer had spread to his lung, and was undergoingimmunotherapy for it; he urged people to "please take skin cancer seriously".[70][71] In July 2025 he tweeted that the cancer appeared to be in remission.[72]
On 1 May 2022, Bryant said that he had been groped and "touched up" by older male MPs early in his career in theHouse of Commons.[73]
In 2025, Bryant revealed that he had been sexually abused by the founder of theNational Youth TheatreMichael Croft when he attended the drama group in London at the age of 16.[74]
He is a member of theFabian Society.[75]
Bryant wasknighted in the2023 New Year Honours for political and public service.[76]
BRYANT, Christopher John. b 62. Mansf Coll Ox BA83 MA87. Ripon Coll Cuddesdon 83. d86 p87. C High Wycombe Ox 86-89; Youth Chap! Pet from 89.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forRhondda 2001–2024 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forRhondda and Ogmore 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Deputy Leader of the House of Commons 2008–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs 2009–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded byas Minister of State for Europe | Undersecretary of State for Europe and Asia 2009–2010 | Succeeded byas Minister of State for Europe |
| New office | Shadow Minister for Political Reform 2010–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister for Immigration 2011–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister for Welfare Reform 2013–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister for the Arts 2014–2015 | Vacant |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Leader of the House of Commons 2015–2016 | Succeeded by |
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