Dr Kieran Mullan is the Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle, having first been elected to parliament at the 2019 general election. He previously represented the Crewe and Nantwich constituency from 2019 to 2024.  

In the 2024 general election, Mullan won 16,186 votes, representing 33.9% of the vote. The Labour candidate, Christine Bayliss, received 13,529 votes (28.3%), while the Reform UK candidate, Ian Gribbin, secured 7,929 votes (16.6%). Mullan was duly elected with a majority of 2,657 votes.  

The Bexhill and Battle constituency is located in East Sussex. It is considered a safe Conservative seat. Mullan was selected as the candidate shortly before the 2024 election, having previously represented the Crewe and Nantwich constituency in Cheshire. Some 250 miles separate the two constituencies.

Connor Naismith of the Labour Party succeeded Mullan as the MP for Crewe and Nantwich.

In his maiden speech, Naismith stated: “I would also like to pay tribute to my immediate predecessor, Kieran Mullan, who has gone to great lengths to demonstrate his commitment to our democracy – approximately 250 miles, in fact, from Crewe to Bexhill!”

Political Career

Mullan currently serves as shadow minister of state for justice on the Conservative frontbench appointed by Kemi Badenoch (since November 2024). He previously served briefly as shadow parliamentary under-secretary for transport from July to November 2024 on the interim/caretaker frontbench constructed by Rishi Sunak after the 2024 general election.

Mullan was linked with the so-called “pork pie plot” of Conservative MPs, which sought to challenge Boris Johnson’s leadership in early 2022 over the Partygate scandal.

Mullan was a member of the House of Commons justice committee (2020-2024) and the procedure committee (2020).

Mullan is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for deep geothermal, humanist, rural services, South Africa and sport and physical activity in the criminal justice system.

Mullan delivered his maiden speech on 12 February 2020 during a debate on the Terrorist Offenders Bill.

In it, he said: “Whether we are addressing terrorism, loneliness, addiction or family breakdown, it is with community, belonging and importance that we need to start if we really want to level up this country.

“Many people have forgotten that the community right outside their door – in community bingo clubs, world worm-charming championships, parks groups, litter-pick groups and rugby teams – is where they will find that fulfilment, belonging and a sense of importance.”

Before entering parliament, Mullan stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate for Birmingham Hodge Hill at the 2015 general election, losing to Labour’s Liam Byrne, and Wolverhampton South East at the 2017 general election, losing to Labour’s Pat McFadden.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Tory leadership 2024: Mullan supported Kemi Badenoch’s candidacy in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Rishi Sunak following the party’s defeat in the 2024 general election.

Badenoch, the then-shadow housing secretary, was seen as a leading figure on the party’s right wing. After finishing first in the final parliamentary ballot with 42 votes, she defeated Robert Jenrick in the membership vote with 53,806 votes (56.5%). Badenoch was declared Conservative leader on 2 November.

Tory leadership 2022 (I): Mullan supported Penny Mordaunt’s candidacy in the Conservative Party’s July-September 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Boris Johnson, following the mass exodus of more than 60 frontbenchers.

Mordaunt, the international trade minister, was described as a “socially liberal Brexiteer”. She was narrowly overtaken by Liz Truss in the final round. Mordaunt was thereby eliminated in the fifth parliamentary ballot on 20 July after receiving 105 votes.

Mullan went on to support Liz Truss’ candidacy. Truss, the then-foreign secretary, campaigned on a platform of sweeping tax cuts. After finishing second in the final parliamentary ballot with 113 votes, she won the subsequent vote of the party membership with 81,326 votes (57.4%) and was appointed prime minister on 6 September.

Tory leadership 2022 (II): Mullan once again supported Mordaunt’s candidacy in the Conservative Party’s October 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Liz Truss after just 45 days in office, following the financial and political tailspin triggered by her “mini-budget”.

Mordaunt, then the leader of the House of Commons, had finished third in the previous contest. Unlike the summer contest, this election featured an expedited process requiring each candidate to secure at least 100 nominations from MPs to proceed. Mordaunt withdrew from the contest on 24 October, shortly before the deadline, after being unable to secure the required number of nominations.

Factional identity and party tradition

Conservative Environment Network: Mullan is listed as a member of the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) parliamentary caucus. CEN is an independent forum for conservatives that supports conservation and decarbonisation. It calls for the environment to be given a higher profile at the heart of policy making, describing “biodiversity loss, climate change, and wasteful resource use are threats to our national security”, and promotes “market-based policies” to environmental challenges. Members of its parliamentary caucus, such as Mullan, are thought to generally align with the group’s “green” message and environmentalism.

Blue Collar Conservatives: Mullan was previously listed as a member of the Blue Collar Conservatives group. This faction within the Conservative party was founded in 2012 by the former cabinet minister Esther McVey, but came to greater prominence following the 2019 general election. The group aimed to “champion working people and develop a conservative agenda to benefit the voters and communities most neglected by Labour”. In October 2022, McVey was succeeded by Lee Anderson as the group’s chair.

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Mullan voted against the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the ten-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union.

Assisted dying

Mullan 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).

Mullan, a shadow justice minister, spoke from the opposition dispatch box during the bill’s second reading debate.

In his contribution, he said: “It is not for me to make the case for His Majesty’s opposition, because we have not taken a collective view, and, like many other members, I have struggled greatly with this decision. I do not believe there is a perfect choice to be made today, just different versions of imperfection, and my time working as a doctor in A&E has made me sympathetic to both sides of the argument.

“I have seen the pain in the eyes of relatives who want to ease the suffering of their dying loved ones, but I have also held the hand of frail elderly people, forgotten by their families, feeling themselves to be nothing but a burden.

“When we reduce it to its core, we are facing a difficult dilemma.”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Mullan voted against a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Foreign policy and security

IPAC: Mullan is a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) – an international, cross-party network of legislators from democratic countries focused on relations with the People’s Republic of China. The alliance, established on 4 June 2020, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, was formed to unite “lawmakers worldwide, promoting democracy and addressing threats to the rules-based and human rights systems posed by the rise of China.”

Before Politics

Born Kieran John Mullan on 6 June 1984, he grew up in social housing. Mullan’s mother was a nurse and his father a policeman. He attended King Edward VI Five Ways grammar school in Birmingham.  

Mullan studied medicine at the University of Leeds School of Medicine. He worked as an emergency medicine (A&E) doctor. He also worked briefly for the public relations firm Weber Shandwick (2008) and for the advocacy group Patients Association (2009-2013).

In 2014, Mullan founded the volunteer recognition charity ValueYou – which aimed to recognise volunteers.

Mullan also served as a volunteer special constable from 2014 to 2018.

Personal Life

In 2024, PinkNews listed Mullan among a number of out LGBTQ+ parliamentarians.

Trivia

Mullan returned A&E to volunteer during the Covid-19 pandemic whilst serving as an MP.

Mullan plays rugby.