Dan Jarvis is the Labour MP for Barnsley North, having first been elected for the predecessor seat of Barnsley Central in a by-election on 3 March 2011.

In the 2024 general election for the new Barnsley North constituency, Jarvis received 18,610 votes (50.4%). The Reform UK candidate received 10,799 votes (29.3%) and the Conservative candidate secured 3,083 votes (8.4%). Jarvis was duly elected with a majority of 7,811.

The Barnsley North constituency covers the northern part of the town of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, including areas like Royston. The seat was created for the 2024 election, largely replacing the Barnsley Central constituency which had been held continuously by the Labour Party since its creation in 1983 (and its predecessors since before WWII). The predecessor Barnsley Central constituency voted strongly to Leave (approx 68%) in the 2016 EU referendum and saw the Brexit Party achieve its highest national vote share (over 30%) there in the 2019 general election.

Jarvis won the 2011 Barnsley Central by-election following the resignation of Eric Illsley, who was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to false accounting as part of the wider parliamentary expenses scandal.

Political Career

Jarvis currently serves as minister of state (security minister), jointly in the Home Office and the Cabinet Office. He was appointed to this role in July 2026, following the Labour leadership contest and Andy Burnham’s elevation as prime minister.

Jarvis served as secretary of state for defence from June to July 2026). He was appointed to this position following John Healey’s resignation over a dispute regarding military spending and the defence investment plan (DIP) specifically.

Jarvis’ resignation came at a time of acute pressure for Starmer in the wake of the May 2026 elections.

Previously, Jarvis served as minister of state in the Cabinet Office (minister of state for the Home Department) from September 2025 to June 2026. He was minister of state for security from July 2024 to June 2026.

Prior to the 2024 general election, which saw Labour returned to power after 14 years in opposition, Jarvis was shadow minister for security (September 2023 to July 2024). He previously held roles as shadow minister for justice (2013 to 2015) and for culture media and sport (2011 to 2013).

From 2018 to 2022, Jarvis served as the first directly elected mayor of the Sheffield City Region (rebranded in 2021 as South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority). He combined this role with his duties as an MP.

Once tipped as a future Labour leader, Jarvis has not stood in recent leadership contests.

Jarvis previously served on the House of Commons business, innovation and skills committee from March to October 2011.

Jarvis delivered his maiden speech on 23 March 2011 during the budget debate.

In it, he said: “Barnsley is a town with a proud history of linen, wire and glass making, but coal mining once accounted for more than 30,000 jobs. It was a community built on coal. In good times and bad, in war and in peace, places such as Barnsley kept this economy and this country going. As is said in Barnsley: ‘We dug the coal.’

“The 1980s and 1990s were a dark chapter for the town, as the then Government closed down the mines which were the heart and soul of our community and stood back and let unemployment and misery linger for a generation.”

He added: “Having served two tours in Afghanistan, I was relieved to fight a – relatively, at least – peaceful by-election campaign in Barnsley…”

“We must never forget their families who are left behind to grieve, but it is not enough just to praise the armed forces. They must be supported with the best training and equipment, and the military covenant is not an optional extra but an essential piece of kit.”

“Ultimately, politics is always the solution.”

Political Views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Jarvis was one of 175 Labour MPs who nominated Bridget Phillipson for the party’s deputy leadership in September 2025. The election followed the resignation of Angela Rayner, who stepped down as deputy prime minister and deputy party leader after an investigation into her tax affairs. It marked the first time since 2007 that Labour had held a deputy leadership contest while in government.

Phillipson, the serving education secretary, was widely viewed as the candidate favoured by Downing Street and the party leadership. She secured 175 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 80 required to reach the final ballot. She was ultimately defeated by Lucy Powell.

Labour leadership 2020: Jarvis was one of 31 Labour MPs who nominated Lisa Nandy for the party’s leadership in early 2020. The election was triggered by the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn following the party’s defeat in the 2019 general election, which resulted in Labour’s fewest seats in the House of Commons since 1935.

Nandy, the MP for Wigan, argued that the party needed a “bridge” to reconnect with traditional working-class voters in northern England. She finished third in the contest with 16.2% of the vote.

Labour leadership 2015: Jarvis was one of 68 Labour MPs who nominated Andy Burnham for the party’s leadership in June 2015. The election followed the resignation of Ed Miliband after the party’s defeat in the 2015 general election. It was the first contest held under the “one member, one vote” system, which replaced the previous electoral college.

Burnham, the shadow health secretary, was initially considered the frontrunner. He secured 68 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 35 required to reach the final ballot. He ultimately finished second in the contest with 19% of the vote, losing to Jeremy Corbyn in the first round.

Corbyn loyalty list: In March 2016, Jarvis was labelled as “core group negative” by the Corbyn leadership in a leaked list which categorised Labour MPs by their perceived loyalty. This label suggested the Corbyn leadership viewed Jarvis as a critic but not openly hostile.

Labour leadership 2016: Jarvis supported Angela Eagle for the party’s leadership in July 2016. The election was triggered by a challenge to Jeremy Corbyn following the EU referendum, which led to a wave of shadow cabinet resignations and a vote of no confidence supported by 172 MPs.

Eagle, the former shadow first secretary of state, was the first to formally launch a challenge against Corbyn. However, she withdrew from the race on 19 July after attracting fewer nominations than Owen Smith. Javis subsequently shifted his support to Smith.

Corbyn was ultimately re-elected with an increased mandate of 61.8% of the vote.

Factional identity and party tradition

Tribune group (2017): Jarvis was listed as a member of the Tribune steering group – responsible for leading the caucus generally described as representing the party’s “soft left”.

The Tribune group was initially formed in 1964 to support the newspaper of the same name. It served as a prominent forum for those parliamentarians situated on the left of the Labour Party – but it split over Tony Benn’s campaign for the deputy leadership in 1981. Benn’s supporters founded the Campaign group – which evolved into the Socialist Campaign Group (SCG). Today, the Bennite SCG is strongly associated with the Labour left tradition.

During the 1980s, the Tribune group emerged as a more natural home for those on Labour’s “soft left”.

In 2017, Efford officially re-launched the group with a new mission statement calling for “opportunity and aspiration” to be placed at the heart of the party’s programme. Efford said he had reformed the group to ensure that the centre-left of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) “have a space in which to put forward ideas and debate which has not been there under successive leaders”.

He added: “The view of Labour MPs at the moment tends to be that too much are just Blairites who want to stab Jeremy Corbyn in the back. We want to show that is not where we are, and that we want to develop our own ideas that represent the centre-left of the party.”

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Jarvis supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore disagreed with the vast majority of constituents, 68.2% of whom voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Jarvis voted in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The legislation empowered the prime minister to notify the Council of the European Union of the UK’s intention to withdraw, formally triggering the process set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. MPs supported the bill by 498 votes to 114 at second reading.

In a statement at the time, Jarvis said: “Whilst I welcome the fact that parliament will be properly scrutinising the Brexit negotiation process, I will not be attempting to overturn the result of the referendum.

“My priority now is to get the best deal for Barnsley. There must be a clear plan to strengthen our economy, and delivers investment and opportunity here in Barnsley…

“The EU referendum produced a clear result and I will vote to ensure that the will of the people is enacted. But to make a success of Brexit, we must show that it can deliver real benefits for working people. That will be my priority as we negotiate our exit from the EU.”

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Jarvis voted in favour of the government’s flagship welfare bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs on 1 July 2025.

Assisted dying

Jarvis voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Social values and conscience issues

Same-sex marriage (2013): In February 2013, Jarvis voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill at its second reading. The landmark piece of legislation, which received its second reading by 400 votes to 175, legalised marriage for same-sex couples in England and Wales.

Foreign policy and security

Trident renewal (2016): Jarvis voted in favour of a government motion calling for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent system in July 2016. The motion, which was passed by 472 votes to 117, committed the UK to constructing a new fleet of submarines to carry the nation’s nuclear weapons.

Labour was split over the issue with 140 of its 230 MPs going against leader Jeremy Corbyn and backing the motion.

Syria airstrikes (2015): Jarvis voted in favour of a government motion to extend UK airstrikes against Isis from Iraq into Syria in December 2015. The motion, which was passed by 397 votes to 223 after a 10-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Syria airstrikes (2013): Jarvis voted against the government’s motion on the principle of military intervention in Syria in August 2013. The government motion was defeated by 285 votes to 272, a move which effectively ruled out UK participation in any US-led military strikes.

Palestine

Palestinian recognition vote (2014): In October 2014, Jarvis voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a state. The motion, passed by 274 votes to 12, called on the government to “recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution”.

Before Politics

Born in Nottingham on 30 November 1972, Dan Jarvis was educated at local state schools before attending Aberystwyth University, graduating in 1996 with a degree in International Politics and Strategic Studies.

He subsequently attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Jarvis has a distinguished military background. He served in the British Army’s Parachute Regiment from 1997 until 2011, including on multiple operational tours, reaching the rank of Major.

He served in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. He was an Aide de Camp to General Sir Mike Jackson.

In 2011, he became the first person since the Second World War to resign his army commission specifically to contest a parliamentary by-election. He received an MBE in 2011 for his military services.

In 2011, Jarvis earned an MA in conflict, security and development from King’s College London.

Personal Life

Jarvis is married and has three children.

His first wife, Caroline, died from cancer in 2010.

He married graphic designer Rachel Jarvis in 2013.

He published his memoir A Long Way Home in 2020 which details his time in the army as well as Caroline’s death.

Trivia

Jarvis ran the London marathon in 2010.

He is friends with Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, with whom he served in Afghanistan.

Tugendhat told PoliticsHome in 2017: “I have been close to Dan for many years. I disagree with him on an awful lot. But he’s a great guy.”

Jarvis said of Tugendhat: “I think he’s someone who’s got a very big contribution to make to parliament, a very significant contribution more generally to public life.

“He’s a very impressive character, in the sense that he’s got a real degree of professionally credible life experience, which he brings to bear. And he’s got good judgment. He’s someone who’s got a lot to offer.”