Ellie Reeves | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Solicitor General for England and Wales | |
| Assumed office 6 September 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Attorney General | The Lord Hermer |
| Preceded by | Lucy Rigby |
| Chair of the Labour Party | |
| In office 6 July 2024 – 6 September 2025 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Anneliese Dodds |
| Succeeded by | Anna Turley |
| Minister without Portfolio | |
| In office 6 July 2024 – 6 September 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Richard Holden |
| Succeeded by | Anna Turley |
| Labour Party Deputy National Campaign Coordinator | |
| In office 4 September 2023 – 6 July 2024 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Conor McGinn |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Shadow Minister for Prisons and Probation | |
| In office 4 December 2021 – 4 September 2023 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Lyn Brown |
| Succeeded by | Ruth Cadbury |
| Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales | |
| In office 9 April 2020 – 4 December 2021 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Nick Thomas-Symonds |
| Succeeded by | Andy Slaughter |
| Member of Parliament forLewisham West and East Dulwich Lewisham West and Penge (2017–2024) | |
| Assumed office 8 June 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Dowd |
| Majority | 18,397 (39.7%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Eleanor Claire Reeves (1980-12-11)11 December 1980 (age 44)[1] Beckenham, London, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Rachel Reeves (sister) |
| Alma mater | St Catherine's College, Oxford |
| Occupation |
|
| Website | Official website |
Eleanor Claire Reeves (born 11 December 1980) is a Britishbarrister andpolitician who has served asSolicitor General for England and Wales since September 2025.[2] A member of theLabour Party, she has served as theMember of Parliament forLewisham West and East Dulwich, formerlyLewisham West and Penge, since2017. She is the younger sister ofChancellor of the ExchequerRachel Reeves.
Reeves previously served asShadow Solicitor General from April 2020 to December 2021,Shadow Minister for Prisons and Probation from 2021 to 2023, and as bothMinister without Portfolio and as theChair of the Labour Party from July 2024 until September 2025.[3]
Eleanor Reeves[4] was born on 11 December 1980 inLewisham, the daughter of teachers[5] Graham and Sally Reeves.[6][7] Her older sister,Rachel, is the Labour MP forLeeds West and Pudsey[8] and theChancellor of the Exchequer under Prime MinisterKeir Starmer.
Reeves grew up inSydenham and was educated at Adamsrill Primary School andCator Park Secondary School.[9] She then studied law atSt Catherine's College, Oxford, graduating with a bachelor's degree.[10]
Reeves joined the Labour Party at 15,[5] chaired theOxford University Labour Club in 2001 and was National Chair ofLabour Students from 2002 to 2003.
In 2006, she was first elected as a constituency party representative onLabour's National Executive Committee (NEC), supported byProgress andLabour First.[11] Reeves was returned to the governing body in subsequent elections, and served as Vice-Chair from 2015 to 2016,[12] until she was defeated byMomentum in 2016.[13] She later served as vice-chair of theLondon Labour Party.[12][14]
Reeves was selected as the Labour candidate forLewisham West and Penge in April 2017, chosen over a left-wingMomentum activist.[15][11]
At the snap2017 general election, Reeves was elected to Parliament as MP for Lewisham West and Penge, with 66.6% of the vote and a majority of 23,162.[16][17]
Reeves was appointed to the opposition front bench asParliamentary Private Secretary toKate Osamor,Shadow International Development Secretary, in March 2018.[18] On 13 June 2018, Reeves and five other MPs resigned as frontbenchers to vote in favour of remaining in thesingle market, defying the party whip.[19][20]
After signing a letter criticising the decision to re-admitChris Williamson into Labour, Reeves was threatened with deselection by a party member in July 2019.[21] Following backlash, Party LeaderJeremy Corbyn wrote that pregnant MPs would not face deselection and the member withdrew their plans to challenge her.[22]
At the2019 general election, Reeves was re-elected as MP for Lewisham West and Penge with a decreased vote share of 61.2% and a decreased majority of 21,543.[23][24]
On 9 April 2020, Reeves was re-appointed to the opposition front bench asShadow Solicitor General for England and Wales.[25]
She served as Labour's political lead for the2021 Old Bexley and Sidcup by-election,[26] in which there was a 7.4% increase in the party's vote share and 10.2% swing from the Conservatives to Labour, however the Conservatives held the seat with a 20.6% majority.[27]
In the2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle she joined the Shadow Cabinet asLabour Party Deputy National Campaign Coordinator.[28]
Due to the2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Reeves' constituency of Lewisham West and Penge was abolished, and replaced withLewisham West and East Dulwich. At the2024 general election, Reeves was elected to Parliament as MP for Lewisham West and East Dulwich with 59.1% of the vote and a majority of 18,397.[29]
In July 2024, Reeves was appointed asChair of the Labour Party and Minister without Portfolio with attendance at Cabinet.[30][31]
On 2 April 2025, Reeves was appointed aPrivy Counsellor.[32] She left the cabinet at the2025 British cabinet reshuffle.[33]
Reeves is a Labour MP, and on the vast majority of issuesfollows instructions from her party and votes the same way as other Labour MPs.[34]
Reeves is a supporter ofLabour Friends of Israel.[35]
Reeves is married toJohn Cryer, who was a Labour MP from 1997 to 2005 and from 2010 to 2024.[11]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forLewisham West and Penge 2017–2024 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forLewisham West and East Dulwich 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales 2020–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister without Portfolio 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chair of the Labour Party 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Cabinet members | .svg) | |
|---|---|---|
| Also attending meetings | ||
