Peter Swallow is the Labour MP for Bracknell, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Swallow won 14,783 votes, representing 33.7% of the vote. The Conservative incumbent, James Sunderland, received 13,999 votes (31.9%), while the Reform UK candidate secured 7,445 votes (17.0%). Swallow was duly elected with a majority of 784.

The Bracknell constituency is located in Berkshire, in the South East of England. The constituency was held by the Conservative Party from its creation in 1997 to 2024.

Political Career

Swallow is a member of the House of Commons education select committee (since October 2025). The education committee scrutinises the work of the Department for Education (DfE) and its associated public bodies.

Swallow is also a member of the joint human rights committee (since January 2025).

In May 2026, Swallow was among the over 100 Labour MPs who signed a joint statement insisting it was “no time for a leadership contest.” The letter was an intervention in the political crisis engulfing Keir Starmer’s premiership, after Labour suffered heavy losses in the 2026 local elections and devolved elections to the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru. It was organised as a counterweight to a mounting rebellion that had seen high-profile figures, including some ministers, call for Starmer’s resignation.

The statement read: “Last week we had a devastatingly tough set of election results. It shows we have a hard job ahead to win back trust from the electorate.

“That job needs to start today – with all of us working together to deliver the change the country needs.

“We must focus on that. This is no time for a leadership contest.”

In March 2026, Swallow was asked to leave the chamber by the speaker of the House of Commons during a session of prime minister’s questions (PMQs).

Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the commons, stated: “Mr Swallow, you’re going out. I’ve had enough – week in, week out. Either leave now or I will name you.”

Swallow later said “Kemi Badenoch’s careless words about our Armed Forces got my blood boiling.” His dismissal came after the Conservative leader chose to address her criticism of the government’s conduct during the Iran War.

Swallow is a patron of LGBT+ Labour – a socialist society formally affiliated with the Labour Party.

Swallow is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for classics (chair), schools, learning and assessment (chair), social mobility (chair) and the South East.

Swallow delivered his maiden speech on 24 July 2024 during a debate on education and opportunity.

In it, he said: “It is now for me and colleagues on the Labour Benches to deliver the change that we have promised. I take that duty seriously, and although change cannot come overnight, it is time to begin the steady task of building a better future for Bracknell and for the country.”

He added: “I welcome the secretary of state for education’s commitment to breaking down the barriers to opportunity for all children, her announcement today of a pause and review of the defunding of technical qualifications, and her laser-like focus on raising standards in early years education…

“Despite their heroic efforts, teachers are finding it harder than ever to offer an excellent education while supporting the increasingly complex mental health needs of their students. Alongside that, there has been growing child poverty and real-terms cuts to funding.”

Political Views

Leadership elections

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Swallow was one of 117 Labour MPs who nominated Lucy Powell 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.

Powell, the former leader of the House of Commons, was seen as a candidate representing the party’s “soft left”; she was supported by leading soft left figures including Ed Miliband and Andy Burnham. She secured 117 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), above the 80 required, and went on to win the election – defeating Bridget Phillipson with 54.3% of the vote.

Factional identity and party tradition

Living Standards Coalition: Swallow is a member of the Living Standards Coalition. Established in July 2025, the group’s stated aim was to develop and promote policy ideas that directly reduce everyday costs for households, particularly in areas such as food, energy, housing and childcare. In an open letter published upon its founding, addressed to Keir Starmer, the MPs wrote: “Our constituents will ask one question at the next election: did this Labour government make me better off?”

They added: “To raise living standards, we support government interventions that will help to increase incomes and lower costs.”

SERA: Swallow has been listed as a member of the Socialist Environment and Resources Association (SERA) – a socialist society affiliated with the Labour Party. Founded in 1973, SERA is the party’s official environmental campaign group. The organisation campaigns on a wide range of issues, including renewable energy, biodiversity, air quality and the transition to a green economy. SERA describes its member MPs as “champions for the environment”.

Labour Movement for Europe: Swallow was endorsed by the Labour Movement for Europe (LME) in the 2024 general election. Founded in 1981, LME is a pro-European socialist society affiliated with the Labour Party. It campaigns for a close relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. The organisation refers to itself as the “home of the pro-Europeans in the Labour and trade union movement”.

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Swallow 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

Swallow 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

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Swallow voted in favour of 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.

Before Politics

Swallow was born in 1993 in Wokingham and grew up in Crowthorne.

Swallow studied classics at the University of St Andrews and then the University of Oxford. He was awarded a PhD from King’s College London in 2020. His PhD thesis was titled “The reception of Aristophanes in Britain during the long-Nineteenth century”.

Swallow initially pursued a career in academia and education. He authored the book Aristophanes in Britain: Old Comedy in the Nineteenth Century (2023).

Swallow was a university lecturer and teacher.

Personal Life

Swallow lives in his Bracknell constituency.

Trivia

Swallow is listed as chair of the classics APPG.