Kevin Brennan was first elected as the Labour Party MP for Cardiff West in 2001, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 10,986.
The Cardiff West constituency contains the Ely, St Fagans, Pontcanna, Radyr, and Llandaff areas of the Welsh capital. Traditionally a safe Labour seat, it was formerly represented at Westminster by the former Welsh First Minister, Rhodri Morgan, and before him by George Thomas, the former Speaker of the House of Commons.
Kevin Brennan stood down from the Labour front bench having served as a Shadow Culture Spokesperson between 2016 and 2020, and previously as Shadow Minister for Schools. He was a Minister in the Gordon Brown government serving as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Children, Schools and Families, before being appointed to the Cabinet Office as Minister for the Third Sector in 2008. Before that he worked in the government whips office.
Born in 1959, Brennan was educated at St Alban’s Roman Catholic Comprehensive School in Pontypool, before reading PPE at Oxford. After graduating, Kevin took a Post Graduate Certificate in Education at the University of Wales, Cardiff, and then a Msc. in Education and Management at the University of Glamorgan.
Prior to being elected to Westminster, Brennan worked as Rhodri Morgan’s constituency based researcher from 1995, acting as his agent and Campaign Manager in the 1999 and 2000 Welsh Labour leadership contests. From March 2000 until May 2001, Kevin acted as Rhodri Morgan’s Special Advisor at the Welsh Assembly.
Before becoming Mr. Morgan’s full-time aide in 1995, Kevin was Head of Economics at Radyr Comprehensive School in Cardiff. Between 1991 and 2001 he was a member of Cardiff City Council, and then Cardiff City and County.
Brennan supported Owen Smith in his 2016 challenge to Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership. He nominated Lisa Nandy in the 2020 Labour leadership election.
Kevin is a keen musician and has been a member of the parliamentary rock group MP4. He likes rugby and supports Cardiff Rugby Club.
In 2021, Mr Brennan became the first sitting MP to release a solo music album. The album, The Clown and the Cigarette, features 13 folk songs written by Brennan.
Kevin Brennan is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Film and Production Industry; Music. He is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Theatre; Ticket Abuse; Educational Technology; and the Internet, Communications, and Technology.
He is married with a daughter.
Email: brennank@parliament.uk
Personal Website: http://www.kevinbrennan.co.uk
Twitter: @KevinBrennanMP
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/kevinbrennanpage
