About Kerry
Early Life and Career
After being re-elected at the 2024 General Election, I’m delighted to be able to continue serving the constituents of Bristol East as their Labour MP. I have now served as the MP for Bristol East for over 20 years, having first been elected in 2005 and subsequently re-elected in 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019. I am the longest-serving of Bristol’s current MPs by some distance.
I grew up in Luton as one of six children, attending local comprehensive schools. Before becoming an MP, I worked in law—studying Russian, Politics and Linguistics at university, then qualifying as a solicitor—and was active in political campaigns. I also served as a councillor for five years. I am well known for being a vegan and I was the first MP to speak about it in Parliament. I first became vegan back in 1991 and am still going strong! I’ve often highlighted the links between food and the environment, as well as the need for sustainable farming, and I’m glad these once-ridiculed ideas are now widely accepted.
I’m a proud member of the Musicians Union (despite not being a musician) and a patron of the Music Venue Trust. I also support SERA, LAWS, the Co-op Party, Greenpeace, the Wildlife Trusts, and Compassion in World Farming. Most recently, I helped launch the Labour Climate and Environment Forum. I’m also part of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, advocating for human rights and international law in the region.
Parliamentary Work
I’ve held several frontbench roles in Parliament. I was the Minister for Climate between June 2024 – September 2025. In the 2005 – 2010 Labour Government, I was PPS at the Department for International Development and later a Government Whip. In Opposition, I served as a shadow Treasury Minister, then spent four years in the Foreign Affairs team covering human rights and climate change. After the 2015 election, I became Shadow Environment Secretary but resigned post-Brexit to take a more independent stance on the EU. I returned to the front bench after 2019, I held shadow briefs for Green Transport and Climate Change.
I’ve served on several Select Committees, including the Treasury Committee early on, and later as Vice Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee and member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. I’ve also been active in various All-Party Parliamentary Groups, such as those for Tibet, Russia, Jordan, Somaliland, Music, and Snooker—reflecting both local ties and personal interest.
I’ve introduced several backbench bills, including the Supported Housing (Regulation) Bill, which prompted government action and legislation. I led efforts on food waste, introducing two bills and chairing the Food Waste APPG. I also served as an officer of the APPG on School Food and helped establish Feeding Bristol to combat food poverty. My Kinship Care Bill raised awareness of carers supporting relatives’ children.
My final backbench bill—the Children (Parental Imprisonment) Bill—was introduced just before the 2024 General Election. I’m now a trustee of the charity Children Heard and Seen, and was honoured to receive the 2023 Labour MP of the Year award for championing support for children with imprisoned parents.
