London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Kevin Brennan is a Welsh Labour politician. Since 2001 He is serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff West. Moreover, he served as the Minister of State for Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills (BIS). Apart from that he served at the Department for Children, Schools, and Families from 2009 to 2010. If this isn’t enough Kevin is responsible for serving plenty of junior ministerial offices during all these years. In opposition, he has served in many shadow ministerial positions starting from 2010 to 2020. He has worked as a Shadow Minister for BIS, Education, and Digital. It also includes the Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS).
Bio & Early Life
Kevin Denis Brennan was born on 16 October 1959 in Cwmbran, South Wales. His parents worked as a steel worker and a school dinner lady. Since his childhood, he was a bright student. This is why he got his education from St Alban’s RC High School in Pontypool and Pembroke College, Oxford. He successfully graduated in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. After completing his studies in 1982, he got elected as the President of Oxford Union. During this same year, he got a lot of support from William Hague as he preferred Kevin for many important positions.
After a few years, he moved from Oxford and returned to his hometown Wales. There he started studying at the University College of Wales, Cardiff. This is where he started working as a qualified teacher. During this time he got a Postgraduate Certificate in Education and history. In 1992 he completed his master’s degree in Education Management at the University of Glamorgan. This University is now named South Wales University.
Parliamentary Career
Rhodri Morgan decided to step down from the position of Member of Parliament for Cardiff West. As we wanted to concentrate on being the First Minister of Wales, Kevin became the Labor candidate for the constituency. Moreover, he became the MP for Cardiff after the 2001 general election. As a result, he concentrated on becoming a top political person. In 2002 July he appeared at the House of Commons without wearing a tie. Interestingly, he asked the other members of the Parliament to ‘dress down’ as well. After this incident, he was forced to leave the chamber and retrieve a tie right from the office.
After the 2005 general election, he was promoted to the position of Assistant Government Whip. In 2007 another famous personality Gordon Brown appointed Kevin as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children. He had to deal with the Young People and Families in the new Department in this position. At this time he replaced Parmjit Dhanda. He was later replaced for not playing this role very well.
As a result, he has replaced by Lady Morgan due to the government reshuffle in October 2008. However, it didn’t mean that Kevin didn’t have any other responsibilities to cover. He had to take care of the Apprenticeships and Consumer Affairs. While he was dealing with responsibilities in the Department for Education Business, Innovation, and Skills. Following the results of the General Election he continued to play a role as a Shadow Minister.
Winning The British Society’s Social Media MP award
In 2010, Kevin became the first ever MP to win the British Computer Society’s (BCS) Social Media MP of the year award. He was successful in beating Nick Clegg and Jeremy Corbyn. However, the opposition finished as a runner-up. As a result of his hard work, Kevin became the Shadow Minister for Trade, Investment, and Intellectual Property. He took this position when Jeremy Corbyn resigned from his position in September 2015. After working here for a few years he resigned from this position in 2016. It followed with a motion of no confidence in Corbyn.
This was passed on by the Labor MPs, 172–40. All these votes are not binding in any way altogether. Kevin started promoting Owen Smith in an attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn from the Labour Party (UK) leadership election. In 2019, Kevin got re-elected as the Member of Parliament for Cardiff West. Interestingly, Kevin supported Lisa Nandy in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election.
Net Worth & Expenses
In 2009, Kevin was under investigation for the expenses scandal. He claimed questionable items that include £450 television. All these products were taken to his second home in London. Some other valuables were delivered to his other family home in Cardiff. As his expenses have been very high all this time he took out many products illegally. He purchased some bunk beds for his daughter which were consumed for MP’s use as well. Kevin is one of the most influential politicians and earns a good amount of money. His total net worth of Kevin happens to be around $5 million.
Controversy: Guitars For Prisoners
In 2014 Kevin started a campaign with musician Billy Bragg. They both decided to lift a blanket ban on the prisoners for having an access to guitars. All the musicians backed him while the list includes Johnny Marr, David Gilmour, and Richard Hawley. Kevin decided to hold a debate on this subject and asked the government to lift this ban. He believed that music will help the prisoners to cope with a difficult situations. In the end, the Government agreed and prisoners could access these instruments.
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Personal Life
Kevin Brennan got married to Amy Lynn Wack in 1988. The couple is blessed with one daughter. He is a big fan of Cardiff City Football Club and the Cardiff Blues rugby team. Moreover, he is a member of a parliamentary rock band MP4. It also involves his fellow politicians named Ian Cawsey, Pete Wishart, and Greg Knight.
They helped each other raise over £1 million for charity. After all these things they started releasing an album and an EP. You will be surprised to see his interest in music. This is why he released his solo album in 2021. The folk album titled The Clown and the Cigarette Girl got a lot of success.