Dickson Meets Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Kyle MP

East Antrim Alliance MLA, Stewart Dickson, met with the Labour Party’s Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Kyle MP, on Monday.

Mr Dickson said: “Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, reshuffled his shadow cabinet at the beginning of December, placing Peter Kyle in the position of Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

“I was delighted to meet Mr Kyle yesterday alongside a number of my party colleagues.

“We took the opportunity to discuss several pressing issues for Northern Ireland, including the omicron Covid variant, the Brexit fallout, and the economy.

“Mr Kyle presented himself as a very engaged and empathetic listener, who knows he has much to learn about Northern Ireland.”.

Mr Dickson concluded by thanking the out-going Labour Shadow Secretary of State Louise Haigh.

He said: “Ms Haigh demonstrated great respect for Northern Ireland. She took time to understand our politics, our culture, and most importantly our people. If Mr Kyle can replicate those characteristics, and use Ms Haigh’s example as a blueprint for the role, I think he will be a great ally for Northern Ireland people in Westminster”.

Peter Kyle was first elected to Parliament as the MP for Hove and Portslade on the south coast of England in 2015. Before politics, he was the deputy chief executive of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO). He had also worked as an aid worker in eastern Europe and the Balkans, during which time he helped to establish an orphanage in Romania.

It was after that work that he moved into the political sphere, focusing on issues of social exclusion as a policy official in the Cabinet Office.

In 2015, he was elected as an MP with a majority of just over 1,200. That majority increased to over 18,000 in 2017 and was more than 17,000 in 2019.

During his Labour career, Mr Kyle has served as a shadow minister for schools and a shadow minister for justice and was a member of the Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.