John Cryer was first elected to Parliament as the Labour Party MP for Hornchurch between 1997 and 2005. Having been defeated in 2005, he was reelected as the MP for Leyton and Wanstead in 2010, winning with a majority of 20,809 in 2019.
The Leyton and Wanstead constituency is found in inner north East London based around the two communities that comprise its name. This is an ethnically diverse seat, in which a quarter of the electorate are reported to be of black or mixed race, and a quarter are of Asian descent. Leyton has been won by Labour at every General Election since the Second World War.
John Cryer has been Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party since 2015.
He has been considered as on the left wing of the Labour Party, and was a member of the Socialist Campaign Group until he resigned from it in 2015. He has rebelled against the Labour Party whip in the past, opposing both the Iraq War and the increase in tuition fees.
Cryer was also one of only a small number of Labour parliamentarians who campaigned and voted for the UK to leave the European Union (EU) in the 2016 referendum
In an interview with the I newspaper in December 2023, Cryer likened Keir Starmer’s leadership of the Labour Party to that of Clement Attlee, praising Sir Keir for the changes made following Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure as leader.
Cryer told the i: “They said all the same things about Clem Attlee as they say about Keir.”
“I get frustrated with this idea that the leader of the Labour Party has a magic wand and he or she will just fix everything overnight. Well, it’s never happened. It’s not possible”, he added.“He’s going to take a while. It’s not going to be overnight. It never is. But we’ll make it but we’ll start improving people’s living conditions, we will start rebuilding the NHS, we will start to bring growth back to the economy. That’s inspiring.”
Born in 1964, Cryer is the son of Ann Cryer and Bob Cryer, both former Labour MPs.
He is married to Ellie Reeves, the Labour MP for Lewisham West and Penge. The couple have two children.
Cryer worked as a trade union official, and as a journalist for both the Morning Star and the Guardian newspaper before being elected to Parliament.
John Cryer is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Historic Vehicles; Waterways; and Algeria.
Cryer enjoys cricket and cycling. As a child, he enjoyed a very brief cameo in the film The Railway Children.
Email: john.cryer.mp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: http://www.johncryermp.co.uk/
Twitter: @JCryerLandW
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/John-Cryer/
