Oliver Ryan (politician)

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Oliver Ryan

| honorific-suffix = MP

| image = Official portrait of Oliver Ryan MP crop 2.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Official portrait, 2024

| parliament1 = United Kingdom

| constituency_MP1 = Burnley

| termstart1 = 4 July 2024

| termend1 =

| predecessor1 = Antony Higginbotham

| successor1 =

| majority1 = 3,420 (8.6%)

| office2 =

| termstart2 =

| termend2 =

| birth_name = Oliver David Ryan

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1995|4|22}}

| birth_place = Manchester, England

| spouse =

| children =

| education =

| alma_mater = University of Manchester (BA)
University of Law (GDL)

| party = Labour Co-op (suspended)

| otherparty =

| predecessor2 =

| successor2 =

}}

Oliver David Ryan (born 22 April 1995) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament for Burnley since 2024.{{Cite news |title=Burnley - General election results 2024 |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001142 |access-date=5 July 2024 |date=5 July 2024 |language=en-GB}}

Previously, from 2014 to 2023, he was a councillor on Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, where he was Executive Member for Finance and Economic Growth and earlier Executive Member for Children's Social Care.{{cite web |last1=Higgins |first1=Adam |title=Former Tameside councillor becomes MP for first time |url=https://www.tamesidecorrespondent.co.uk/2024/07/05/former-tameside-councillor-becomes-mp-for-first-time/ |publisher=Tameside Correspondent |access-date=10 July 2024 |date=5 July 2024}}

He served as a Labour and Co-operative MP from the 2024 general election until February 2025, when he was suspended from the party for bringing the party into disrepute.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/feb/10/burnley-mp-oliver-ryan-suspended-by-labour-over-messages-on-whatsapp-group|title=Burnley MP Oliver Ryan suspended by Labour over messages on WhatsApp group|website=The Guardian|access-date=10 February 2025}}

Early life

Oliver David Ryan was born in April 1995 in Manchester. He has three siblings and grew up in Droylsden.{{cite web |title=Oliver David RYAN personal appointments |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/JG83eXgcdT4xit2ufaye4ZVW7Pk/appointments |publisher=Companies House |access-date=10 July 2024}}{{cite web |last=Ryan |first=Oliver |title=About Oliver Ryan |url=https://www.oliverryan.org.uk/ |access-date=10 July 2024}}{{cite web |title=UK Parliamentary Election – Thursday 4th July |url=https://burnley.gov.uk/council-democracy/elections-voting/ |publisher=Burnley Borough Council |access-date=10 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240710011905/https://burnley.gov.uk/council-democracy/elections-voting/ |archive-date=10 July 2024 |date=5 July 2024 |url-status=live}} Ryan graduated from the University of Manchester with a BA (Hons) in Modern History with Politics in 2016 before obtaining a postgraduate Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) in Law from the University of Law.{{cite web |title=Graduation programme July 2016 |url=https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=29081 |publisher=University of Manchester |access-date=10 July 2024 |page=57 |format=PDF |date=July 2016}}

He has spoken of the influence his grandparents had on his upbringing; his grandfather David Boyle was a GMB Union official and his grandmother was an NHS nurse.

Political career

Ryan joined the Labour Party in 2010, aged 15. He was elected as the Labour Party councillor for Audenshaw ward in the 2014 Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council election at the age of 19.{{cite web |title=Local Election - Thursday, 22nd May, 2014 |url=https://tameside.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?XXR=0&ID=80&RPID=31943442 |publisher=Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council |access-date=10 July 2024 |date=22 May 2014}} He retained his seat in the 2018 and 2022 elections. Ryan stood down ahead of the 2023 election.{{cite web |title=Local Election - Thursday, 3rd May, 2018 |url=https://tameside.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?XXR=0&ID=309&RPID=31944015 |publisher=Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council |access-date=10 July 2024 |date=22 May 2014}}{{cite web |title=Local Election - Thursday, 5th May, 2022 |url=https://tameside.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?XXR=0&ID=389&RPID=31944035 |publisher=Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council |access-date=10 July 2024 |date=22 May 2014}} Ryan was then elected as the Labour and Co-operative MP for Burnley in the 2024 general election with a majority of 3,420 votes, defeating the incumbent Antony Higginbotham of the Conservative Party.

Ryan has said that his main priority in politics is to break the "generational cycle of worklessness" among some Burnley families.{{Cite web |last=Collis |first=Dominic |date=3 September 2024 |title=Burnley's new Labour MP Oliver Ryan talks about his first 50 days in parliament |url=https://www.burnleyexpress.net/news/politics/burnleys-new-labour-mp-oliver-ryan-talks-about-his-first-50-days-in-parliament-4767802 |website=Burnley Express}}

In February 2025, Ryan apologised for comments made in a WhatsApp chat group, after Andrew Gwynne was sacked as a minister and was suspended from the Labour Party, over messages he sent to the same group.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-09 |title=Second Labour MP apologises over WhatsApp comments |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1lv1gqgmdzo |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=BBC News}} Ryan was subsequently also suspended from the Labour parliamentary party.{{cite web |last=Whannel |first=Kate |date=10 February 2025 |title=Oliver Ryan suspended as Labour MP over WhatsApp messages |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly5xdvnn16o/ |access-date=10 February 2025 |publisher=BBC}}

Electoral performance

=House of Commons=

{{Election box winning candidate with party link

|party=Labour and Co-operative Party

|candidate=Oliver Ryan

|votes=12,598

|percentage=31.7

|change=–8.5

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

|party=Liberal Democrats (UK)

|candidate=Gordon Birtwistle

|votes=9,178

|percentage=23.1

|change=+15.4

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

|party=Conservative Party (UK)

|candidate=Antony Higginbotham

|votes=8,058

|percentage=20.3

|change=–20.2

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

|party=Reform UK

|candidate=Nathan McCollum

|votes=7,755

|percentage=19.5

|change=+12.4

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

|party=Green Party of England and Wales

|candidate=Jack Launer

|votes=1,518

|percentage=3.8

|change=+2.0

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

|party=Independent

|candidate=Rayyan Fiass

|votes=292

|percentage=0.7

|change=+0.7

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

|party=Independent

|candidate=Mitchell Cryer

|votes=169

|percentage=0.4

|change=+0.4

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

|party=Independent

|candidate=David Roper

|votes=151

|percentage=0.4

|change=+0.4

}}

{{Election box majority

|votes=3,420

|percentage=8.6

|change=N/A

}}

{{Election box turnout

|votes=39,719

|percentage=53

|change=–9.4

}}

{{Election box gain with party link

|winner=Labour Party (UK)

|loser=Conservative Party (UK)

|swing=+5.8

}}

=[[Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council]]=

{{Election box begin |title=2022 Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council election: Audenshaw}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link

|party = Labour Party (UK)

|candidate = Oliver Ryan

|votes = 1,520

|percentage = 52.1

|change = +5.2

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

|party = Conservative Party (UK)

|candidate = Danny Mather

|votes = 1,178

|percentage = 40.4

|change = –4.0

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

|party = Green Party of England and Wales

|candidate = Luke Robinson

|votes = 221

|percentage = 7.6

|change = –1.1

}}

{{Election box majority

|votes = 342

|percentage = 11.7

|change =

}}

{{Election box turnout

|votes = 2,930

|percentage = 31.1

|change =

}}

{{Election box hold with party link

|winner = Labour Party (UK)

|loser =

|swing = +4.6

}}

{{Election box begin |title=2018 Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council election: Audenshaw}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link

|party = Labour Party (UK)

|candidate = Oliver Ryan

|votes = 1,581

|percentage = 55.3

|change = +10.0

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

|party = Conservative Party (UK)

|candidate = Danny Mather

|votes = 922

|percentage = 32.2

|change = +5.7

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

|party = United Kingdom Independence Party

|candidate = Peter Harris

|votes = 195

|percentage = 6.8

|change = –15.6

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

|party = Green Party of England and Wales

|candidate = Georgia Blakeney

|votes = 161

|percentage = 5.6

|change = +0.4

}}

{{Election box turnout

|votes = 2,865

|percentage = 30

|change =

}}

{{Election box hold with party link

|winner = Labour Party (UK)

|swing =

}}

{{Election box begin |title=2014 Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council election: Audenshaw}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link

|party = Labour Party (UK)

|candidate = Oliver Ryan

|votes = 1,284

|percentage = 42.32

|change =-9.36

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=UK Independence Party|candidate=David Turner|votes=1,162|percentage=38.30|change=N/A}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Conservative Party (UK)|candidate=Colin White|votes=429|percentage=14.14|change=-18.42}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Green Party of England and Wales|candidate=Nancy Jaegar|votes=159|percentage=5.24|change=N/A}}

{{Election box hold with party link

|winner = Labour Party (UK)

|swing =

}}

Personal life

Ryan is openly gay.{{cite web |last=Reynolds |first=Andrew |date=5 July 2024 |title=Number of out LGBTQ+ MPs falls following election – but Labour has a reason to be proud |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/07/05/lgbtq-mps-general-election/ |access-date=10 July 2024 |publisher=PinkNews}}

References

External links

{{UK MP links |parliament=5135 |publicwhip=Oliver_Ryan |theywork=oliver_ryan}}

{{s-ttl

|title=Member of Parliament
for Burnley

|years=2024–present

}}

Category:1995 births

Category:Living people

Category:Alumni of the University of Law

Category:Alumni of the University of Manchester

Category:English gay politicians

Category:Labour Co-operative MPs for English constituencies

Category:LGBTQ members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Category:People from Ashton-under-Lyne

Category:UK MPs 2024–present