Ellie Reeves

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Right Honourable

| name = The Lady Cryer{{efn|name=fn1|Her husband is The Lord Cryer, therefore making her The Lady Cryer. Reference Debrett's:
{{cite book |last1=Debrett's |editor1-last=Wyse |editor1-first=Elizabeth |editor2-last=Bryant |editor2-first=Jo |editor3-last=Noel |editor3-first=Celestria |editor4-last=Kidd |editor4-first=Charles |editor5-last=Alexander |editor5-first=Davina |editor3-link=Celestria Noel |editor5-link=Davina Alexander |title=Debrett's Handbook British Style, Correct Form, Modern Manners |date=16 October 2014 |publisher=Debrett's |location=Charles Street, Mayfair |isbn=9780992934811 |pages=43 |edition=2014 |url=https://archive.org/details/debrettshandbook0000unse/mode/2up |access-date=22 February 2025 |language=en |chapter=Formal Address - Life Peers (Family of life peers) |quote=The wives and children of life barons enjoy the same styles and titles as the wives and children of hereditary barons, as do the children of life baronesses.}}}}

| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|PC|MP}}

| image = Official portrait of Ellie Reeves MP crop 2, 2023.jpg

| caption = Official portrait, 2023

| office = Chair of the Labour Party

| leader = Keir Starmer

| term_start = 6 July 2024

| term_end =

| predecessor = Anneliese Dodds

| successor =

| office1 = Minister without Portfolio

| primeminister1 = Keir Starmer

| term_start1 = 6 July 2024

| term_end1 =

| predecessor1 = Richard Holden

| successor1 =

| office2 = Labour Party Deputy National Campaign Coordinator

| term_start2 = 4 September 2023

| predecessor2 = Conor McGinn

| leader2 = Keir Starmer

| termend2 = 6 July 2024

| successor2 = TBD

| office3 = Shadow Minister for Prisons and Probation

| leader3 = Keir Starmer

| term_start3 = 4 December 2021

| term_end3 = 5 September 2023

| predecessor3 = Lyn Brown

| successor3 = Ruth Cadbury

| office4 = Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales

| leader4 = Keir Starmer

| term_start4 = 9 April 2020

| term_end4 = 4 December 2021

| predecessor4 = Nick Thomas-Symonds

| successor4 = Andy Slaughter

| office5 = Member of Parliament
for Lewisham West and East Dulwich
{{nobold|Lewisham West and Penge (2017–2024)}}

| parliament5 =

| predecessor5 = Jim Dowd

| successor5 =

| term_start5 = 8 June 2017

| term_end5 =

| majority5 = 18,397 (39.7%)

| birth_name = Eleanor Claire Reeves

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1980|12|11|df=y}}{{cite web |url=http://data.parliament.uk/membersdataplatform/services/mnis/members/query/id=4620/BasicDetails/ |title=Members' Names Data Platform query |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=24 April 2019}}

| birth_place = Beckenham, London, England

| death_date =

| death_place =

| spouse = {{marriage|John Cryer, Baron Cryer|2012}}

| party = Labour

| relatives = Rachel Reeves (sister)

| children = 2

| residence =

| alma_mater = St Catherine's College, Oxford

| occupation = {{flatlist|

Politician
barrister}}

| profession =

| religion =

| signature =

| website = {{Official website|www.elliereeves.com}}

| footnotes =

}}

Eleanor Claire Reeves, Baroness Cryer (born 11 December 1980), is a British barrister and politician who has served as Chair of the Labour Party and Minister without Portfolio since July 2024.{{Cite web |title=Ministerial Appointments: July 2024 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-july-2024 |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}} A member of the Labour Party, she has served as the Member of Parliament for Lewisham West and East Dulwich, formerly Lewisham West and Penge, since 2017. She previously served as Shadow Solicitor General from April 2020 to December 2021 and Shadow Minister for Prisons and Probation from 2021 to 2023.

Early life and education

Eleanor Reeves{{London Gazette |issue=61961 |date=19 June 2017 |page=11776}} was born on 11 December 1980 in Lewisham, the daughter of teachers{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/17-from-17-ellie-reeves-on-her-journey-into-politics-at-a-young-age_uk_5979fc6fe4b02a4ebb7390e8|title=17 From '17: Ellie Reeves On Her Journey Into Politics At A Young Age|last=Forrester|first=Kate|date=8 October 2017|access-date=3 October 2019|work=HuffPost}} Graham and Sally Reeves.{{cite news |last1=Whale |first1=Sebastian |title=Rachel Reeves interview |url=https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/rachel-reeves-usually-oppositions-do-not-want-governments-to-succeed-that-is-not-the-case-at-the-moment |access-date=27 January 2021 |work=politicshome |date=23 May 2020}}{{cite news |url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/opinion/the-legal-eagle-who-left-sisters-scuppered-1-2114418 |title=The legal eagle who left sisters scuppered |work=Yorkshire Evening Post |date=13 September 2007 |access-date=8 June 2017 |archive-date=4 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604021907/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/opinion/the-legal-eagle-who-left-sisters-scuppered-1-2114418 |url-status=dead }} Her older sister, Rachel, is the Labour MP for Leeds West and Pudsey{{cite news|last=Rampen |first=Julia |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/june2017/2017/04/how-labours-power-brokers-will-divide-partys-safe-seats |title=How Labour's power-brokers will divide up the party's safe seats |work= New Statesman |date= 26 April 2017 |access-date= 8 June 2017}} and the Chancellor of the Exchequer under Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Reeves grew up in Sydenham and was educated at Adamsrill Primary School and Cator Park Secondary School.{{cite news|last=Little |first=Mandy |url=https://www.londonnewsonline.co.uk/23423/ellie-reeves-fight-lewisham-west-penge-seat-labour/ |title=Ellie Reeves to fight for Lewisham West and Penge seat for Labour | work =London News Online |date= 28 April 2017 |access-date= 8 June 2017}} She then studied law at St Catherine's College, Oxford, graduating with a bachelor's degree.{{cite web| url=https://www.stcatz.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Catz-The-Year-2017.pdf | title=The Year 2017 – alumni magazine for St Catherine's College, Oxford |access-date= 18 February 2019}}

Political career

File:Official portrait of Ellie Reeves crop 2.jpg

Reeves joined the Labour Party at 15, chaired the Oxford University Labour Club in 2001 and was National Chair of Labour Students from 2002 to 2003.

In 2006, she was first elected as a constituency party representative on Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC), supported by Progress and Labour First.{{cite news |title=Former Labour official Ellie Reeves selected for safe seat in London |url=http://labourlist.org/2017/04/ellie-reeves-selected-to-fight-lewisham-west-penge/ |access-date=8 June 2017 |work=LabourList}} Reeves was returned to the governing body in subsequent elections, and served as Vice-Chair from 2015 to 2016,{{Cite news|last=Savage|first=Michael|title=Hard left set for Labour power grab|newspaper=The Times |language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/hard-left-set-for-labour-power-grab-h2ws8cbzz|access-date=2021-12-03|issn=0140-0460}} until she was defeated by Momentum in 2016.{{Cite web|title=Corbyn's Allies Run Rings Round Eddie Izzard|url=https://news.sky.com/story/corbyns-allies-run-rings-round-eddie-izzard-10528576|access-date=2021-12-03|website=Sky News|language=en}} She later served as vice-chair of the London Labour Party.{{Cite news|last=Kenber|first=Billy|title=Labour hopefuls aiming for Westminster|newspaper=The Times |language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/labour-hopefuls-aiming-for-westminster-d7kfwwpqh|access-date=2021-12-03|issn=0140-0460}}

Parliamentary career

Reeves was selected as the Labour candidate for Lewisham West and Penge in April 2017, chosen over a left-wing Momentum activist.{{Cite news|date=2017-04-28|title=General election 2017: Key Corbyn allies not selected by Labour|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-39747199|access-date=2021-12-03}}

At the snap 2017 general election, Reeves was elected to Parliament as MP for Lewisham West and Penge, with 66.6% of the vote and a majority of 23,162.{{cite news |title=Lewisham West and Penge parliamentary constituency |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000788 |work=BBC News}}{{cite web |date=29 January 2019 |orig-date=7 April 2018 |title=Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis |url=https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7979/CBP-7979.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112183438/https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7979/CBP-7979.pdf |archive-date=12 November 2019 |publisher=House of Commons Library |edition=Second}}

Reeves was appointed to the opposition front bench as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Kate Osamor, Shadow International Development Secretary, in March 2018.{{cite news|url=https://www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/2018/03/ellie-reeves-mp-for-lewisham-west-and-penge-has-been-appointed-by-corbyn/|title=Ellie Reeves MP for Lewisham West and Penge gets front bench promotion|last=Aweys|first=Suleega|date=3 March 2018|access-date=3 October 2019|work=East London Lines}} On 13 June 2018, Reeves and five other MPs resigned as frontbenchers to vote in favour of remaining in the single market, defying the party whip.{{Cite news|last= Culbertson |first= Alix |title= Six Labour MPs quit frontbench roles over key Brexit vote |url= https://news.sky.com/story/five-labour-frontbenchers-quit-over-brexit-vote-11403982 |work=Sky News|date=14 June 2018|access-date=14 June 2018}}{{Cite news|last= Morris |first=Nigel|title= Six Labour frontbenchers resign in protest at Labour's Brexit position |url= https://inews.co.uk/news/brexit/eea-five-labour-mps-resign-in-protest-at-labour-brexit-position/ |work=i News|date=13 June 2018|access-date=14 June 2018}}

After signing a letter criticising the decision to re-admit Chris Williamson into Labour, Reeves was threatened with deselection by a party member in July 2019.{{Cite web|date=2020-02-25|title=EXCL Pregnant Labour MP facing deselection threat for signing Chris Williamson statement|url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/excl-pregnant-labour-mp-facing-deselection-threat-for-signing-chris-williamson-statement|access-date=2021-12-03|website=Politics Home|language=en}} Following backlash, Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote that pregnant MPs would not face deselection and the member withdrew their plans to challenge her.{{Cite web|date=2019-07-03|title=Corbyn Blocks Activist's Bid To Oust Pregnant Labour MP|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/corbyn-blocks-bid-to-deselect-pregnant-mp-ellie-reeves_uk_5d1cc3dbe4b04c48140d8f76|access-date=2021-12-03|website=HuffPost UK|language=en}}

At the 2019 general election, Reeves was re-elected as MP for Lewisham West and Penge with a decreased vote share of 61.2% and a decreased majority of 21,543.{{Cite web |title=General election 2019 |url=https://lewisham.gov.uk/mayorandcouncil/elections/general-election-2019 |access-date=2019-11-19 |website=lewisham.gov.uk |language=en}}{{cite web |date=28 January 2020 |title=Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis |url=https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8749/CBP-8749.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118043715/https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8749/CBP-8749.pdf |archive-date=18 November 2021 |access-date=19 January 2022 |publisher=House of Commons Library |location=London}}

On 9 April 2020, Reeves was re-appointed to the opposition front bench as Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales.{{cite news |last1=Rodgers |first1=Sienna |title=Shadow ministers appointed as Starmer completes frontbench |url=https://labourlist.org/2020/04/shadow-ministers-appointed-as-starmer-completes-frontbench/ |access-date=9 April 2020 |work=LabourList |date=9 April 2020}}

She served as Labour's political lead for the 2021 Old Bexley and Sidcup by-election,{{Cite web|last=Reeves|first=Ellie|date=October 31, 2021|title=As Labour's political lead on the Old Bexley & Sidcup by-election...|url=https://twitter.com/elliereeves/status/1454828628341051393|url-status=live|website=Twitter|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031151946/https://twitter.com/elliereeves/status/1454828628341051393 |archive-date=2021-10-31 }} in which there was a 7.4% increase in the party's vote share and 10.2% swing from the Conservatives to Labour, however the Conservatives held the seat with a 20.6% majority.{{Cite web|date=2021-12-03|title=Conservatives hold seat in Old Bexley and Sidcup byelection|url=https://www.itv.com/news/2021-12-03/conservatives-hold-seat-in-old-bexley-and-sidcup-byelection|access-date=2021-12-03|website=ITV News|language=en}}

In the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle she joined the Shadow Cabinet as Labour Party Deputy National Campaign Coordinator.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-04 |title=Labour reshuffle live: Angela Rayner gets new role as Keir Starmer reshuffles team |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-66701628 |access-date=2023-09-08 |website=BBC News |language=en-gb}}

Due to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Reeves' constituency of Lewisham West and Penge was abolished, and replaced with Lewisham West and East Dulwich. At the 2024 general election, Reeves was elected to Parliament as MP for Lewisham West and East Dulwich with 59.1% of the vote and a majority of 18,397.{{Cite news |title=Lewisham West and East Dulwich - General election results 2024 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001333 |access-date=2024-08-28 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

In July 2024, Reeves was appointed as Chair of the Labour Party and Minister without Portfolio with attendance at Cabinet.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c51y4vz6900o |title=Starmer appoints two figures from Blair and Brown era as ministers |work=BBC News |date=7 July 2024 |first=Sam |last=Francis}}{{cite news |url=https://news.sky.com/video/things-dont-change-overnight-says-labour-party-chair-ellie-reeves-ahead-of-pm-speech-13203956 |title='Things don't change overnight,' says Labour Party chair Ellie Reeves ahead of PM speech |work=Sky News}}

On 2 April 2025, Reeves was appointed a Privy Counsellor.{{cite web |title=List of Business – 2nd April 2025 |url=https://privycouncil.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2025-04-02-List-of-Business.pdf |publisher=Privy Council Office |access-date=7 April 2025 |date=2 April 2025}}

Personal life

Reeves is married to John Cryer, who was a Labour MP from 1997 to 2005 and from 2010 to 2024. As the wife of a peer, she is entitled to the courtesy title of Baroness Cryer, but does not use it in public life.