Kevin Bonavia | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament forStevenage | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Stephen McPartland |
| Majority | 6,618 (15.5%) |
| Member ofLewisham London Borough Council forBlackheath | |
| In office 6 May 2010 – 5 May 2022 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 1977 (age 48) Rabat, Malta |
| Nationality | British |
| Party | Labour |
| Education | Eltham College |
| Alma mater | University of Birmingham (BA) |
| Website | www |
Kevin Bonavia (born August 1977) is a BritishLabour Party politician and lawyer serving as aMember of Parliament (MP) forStevenage since2024.[1] He formerly served as a member of theLewisham London Borough Council from 2010 to 2022.
Bonavia was born to a Maltese father and a Scottish mother.[2] He spent his early childhood inRabat, Malta before moving to England at age eight.[3] He attended the privateEltham College on a bursary. He graduated from theUniversity of Birmingham with aBachelor of Arts (BA) in History and completed a postgraduate diploma at theUniversity of Law.[4]
Before entering politics, he worked as a litigator[5] and at Steel & Shamash, where he acted for the Labour Party, MPs and councillors on a range of matters, including advising candidates on electoral law issues during the 2005 General Election campaign. He was a youth officer in Birmingham Edgbaston, Greenwich & Woolwich and Lewisham East Constituency Labour Parties.[6] In 2004-05, Bonavia was Chair of theYoung Fabians, asocialist society that is affiliated with theLabour Party (UK).[7]
Bonavia became a councillor for theBlackheath ward inLewisham London Borough Council in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014 and 2018, stepping down in 2022.[8] In 2014, he became Cabinet Member for Resources in the council. From 2018 to 2022, he held the position of Cabinet Member for Democracy, Refugees and Accountability.
On 30 June 2016, Bonavia was one of 600 Labour councillors who signed a public statement calling onJeremy Corbyn to resign as leader and “make way for the new leadership”.[9] On 19 August 2016, Bonavia was one of 1,000 Labour councillors who signed a letter announcing and explaining why they were backingOwen Smith over Jeremy Corbyn in the2016 Labour leadership election.[10]
In 2010, Bonavia ran as the Labour Parliamentary Candidate for theRochford & Southend East constituency, inEssex, where he came in second place with 20.3% of the vote, a drop of 11.3%.[11] In2019, Bonavia ran as the Labour Parliamentary Candidate for theClacton constituency inEssex, winning 15.5% of the vote, a drop of 9.9%.[12]
In 2024, he ran successfully in theStevenage constituency inHertfordshire, winning 41.4% of the vote, an increase of 6.2%.[13]
In November 2024, Bonavia voted in favour of theTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes to legaliseassisted suicide.[14]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forStevenage 2024–present | Incumbent |
