Jonathan Reynolds is the Labour and Co-operative MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, having first been elected to parliament at the 2010 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Reynolds won 16,320 votes, representing 43.8% of the vote. The Reform UK candidate, Barbara Kaya, received 7,781 votes (20.9%), while the Conservative candidate, Phil Chadwick, secured 6,872 votes (18.5%). Reynolds was duly elected with a majority of 8,539 votes.  

The Stalybridge and Hyde constituency is located in Greater Manchester and includes the towns of Stalybridge, Hyde, and Mossley. It is considered a safe Labour seat, held by the party continuously since 1945.

Reynolds succeeded James Purnell as the MP at the 2010 general election after the former cabinet minister and leading Blairite stood down.

Political Career

Reynolds currently serves as secretary of state for business, innovation, science and trade. Reynolds was appointed to this role in July 2026, following the Labour leadership contest and Andy Burnham’s elevation as prime minister.

Reynolds served as parliamentary secretary to the Treasury (government chief whip) from September 2025 to July 2026. This role meant he was responsible for enforcing party discipline and managing the government’s legislative agenda in the House of Commons. As a whip, Reynolds’ primary duty was to ensure that the party’s MPs attend parliamentary votes and support the government’s position.

As chief whip, Reynolds readmitted four Labour MPs, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff and Rachael Maskell, to the parliamentary party after they had the whip removed for “persistent” rebelliousness. The group was readmitted in November 2025 following what were described as “constructive discussions” with the chief whip, Jonathan Reynolds.

Reynolds served as secretary of state for business and trade and president of the board of trade from July 2024 to September 2025. As business and trade secretary, Reynolds shepherded the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill through parliament in a single day in April 2025.. This legislation was passed to prevent the shutdown of key steel assets, primarily British Steel.

Prior to the 2024 general election, which saw Labour returned to power after 14 years in opposition, Reynolds held a series of shadow ministerial roles. He served in the shadow cabinet as shadow secretary of state for business and trade (2023-2024), shadow secretary of state for business and industrial strategy (2021-2023), and shadow secretary of state for work and pensions (2020-2021).

Previously, Reynolds was shadow economic secretary to the Treasury (2016-2020), shadow rail minister (2015-2016), and shadow energy and climate change minister (2013-2015).

As shadow city minister (shadow economic secretary to the Treasury), Reynolds was tasked with having to “take Labour’s economic message and sell it to the city”, according to a September 2017 PoliticsHome profile.

Reynolds told PoliticsHome: “There has to be a quite ambitious and radical economic platform from the Labour Party – we are seeing a hunger for that and a need for that. There is an overwhelming need to find a way to create more stable, better-paid jobs, particularly outside the south east.

“There’s a huge need for more infrastructure. We’ve got to be in the market for quite a radical programme and I feel there’s a chance to be part of that.”

He added: “I could never describe myself as a Corbynista, but I’ve no problem working with [shadow chancellor John McDonnell] and Jeremy on those things. It’s on the need to put right a lot of the damage we’ve seen since the financial crisis that most of the Labour party is agreed upon. That’s where the consensus lies.

“The disagreement is on foreign policy and defence, and to an extent some of the public service reform programmes. But on the need for an economic programme, there’s quite a lot of consensus on that.”

In December 2015, Reynolds introduced a bill under the 10-minute rule procedure which proposed replacing the existing first past the post (FPTP) electoral system with the additional member system (AMS) system. In his speech to the House of Commons, Reynolds described the electoral system as “no longer fit for purpose”.

He stated: “It has led to a narrow and unrepresentative politics, increasingly poor decision making, poorly conducted elections and, at times, poor government. Moreover, it now threatens the constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom and the cohesion of the constituent nations of the UK, by failing to produce representation that truly reflects the diversity of political views contained therein.”

Reynolds argued that AMS delivered the “best of both worlds: a local MP with a constituency link, and a representative election that successfully reflects the intentions of the electorate.”

Reynolds was parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the leader of the opposition, Ed Miliband, from 2011 to 2013. A PPS acts as an unpaid parliamentary assistant, providing a link between the senior frontbencher and backbench MPs.

Reynolds was an opposition whip from October 2010 to October 20211.

Reynolds was a member of the House of Commons business and trade committee (2016), the business, innovation and skills committee (2016), the science, innovation and technology committee (2010-2012), and the finance and services committee (2010-2012).

Reynolds delivered his maiden speech on 26 May 2010 during a debate on foreign affairs and defence.

In it, he said: “I believe that this House needs to remember that on many issues, cross-party co-operation will yield results much faster than exaggerated dividing lines. I also believe that this House needs to make real progress towards reforming the House of Lords, and to take seriously the opportunity to amend the voting system that sends us all here to the House of Commons.”

Before entering Parliament, Reynolds served as a Labour councillor for the Longdendale ward on Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council from 2007 to 2011. He also served on Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) representing young members from 2003 to 2005.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour leadership 2020: Reynolds was one of 82 Labour MPs who nominated Keir Starmer 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.

Starmer’s 82 nominations were the highest of any candidate. The shadow Brexit secretary won a decisive victory in the first round with 56.2% of the vote, defeating Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy.

Labour leadership 2015: Reynolds was one of 41 Labour MPs who nominated Liz Kendall 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.

Kendall, the shadow minister for care and older people, was viewed as the “Blairite” candidate in the race. She secured 41 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), exceeding the 35 required to reach the final ballot. She ultimately finished fourth in the contest with 4.5% of the vote.

Corbyn loyalty list: In March 2016, Reynolds 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 Reynolds as a critic but not openly hostile.

Labour leadership 2016: Reynolds was one of 162 Labour MPs who nominated Owen Smith 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. Smith, the former shadow work and pensions secretary, was ultimately defeated by Corbyn, who won with an increased mandate of 61.8% of the vote.

Labour leadership 2010: Reynolds was one of 81 Labour MPs who nominated David Miliband for the party’s leadership in May 2010. The election followed the resignation of Gordon Brown, who stepped down as prime minister and Labour leader after the 2010 general election.

Miliband, the former foreign secretary, was seen as closely aligned with the New Labour project – a Blairite figure. He secured 81 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 33 required to reach the final ballot, but was narrowly defeated by his brother, Ed Miliband, in the final round by 50.7% to 49.3%.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Reynolds supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore disagreed with a majority of his constituents, 59.3% of whom voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Reynolds 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.

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Reynolds 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

Reynolds voted against 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).

In statement setting out his position, issued shortly before the bill’s second reading, Reynolds said: “One of the key questions for me has been this: under a situation where a person does qualify to end their own life under what is being proposed, but wants to do so because they feel a burden to their family rather than they are in acute pain, are we comfortable with that?

“Would the very existence of such a right risk creating an expectation that it should be exercised? Do we feel vulnerable people could definitely be protected? I feel in this instance the precautionary principle should apply.”

Social values and conscience issues

Same-sex marriage (2013): In February 2013, Reynolds 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): Reynolds 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): Reynolds voted against 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 ten-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Syria airstrikes (2013): Reynolds 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.

Before Politics

Jonathan Neil Reynolds was born in Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham on 28 August 1980. His father was a fireman. He grew up in Sunderland.

Reynolds attended Houghton Kepier Comprehensive School and Sunderland City College.

He studied politics and modern history at the University of Manchester and later studied law at BPP Law School in Manchester. He began training as a solicitor with the law firm Addleshaw Goddard but did not complete his qualification, leaving to run for parliament in 2010.  

Reynolds worked as a political assistant for the former MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, James Purnell.

Personal Life

Jonathan Reynolds married Claire Reynolds at St Michael’s Church in Mottram in 2008. They have four children and live in Stalybridge.

Claire Reynolds served for a period as political director to Keir Starmer in Downing Street.

Trivia

Reynolds is a supporter of Sunderland AFC.