28 Facts About Liam Byrne

Liam Byrne served in Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Cabinet from 2008 to 2010.

Liam Byrne served in Gordon Brown's Cabinet as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 2008 to 2009.

Liam Byrne deputised for Chancellor Alistair Darling at HM Treasury as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2009 to 2010.

Liam Byrne was the Labour candidate for Mayor of the West Midlands in 2021, losing to the Conservative incumbent Andy Street.

Liam Byrne is the chair of the House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee.

Liam Byrne was born on 2 October 1970 in Warrington.

Liam Byrne's father was a science teacher while his mother was a district council officer.

Liam Byrne was state-educated at Burnt Mill School in Harlow, before completing his A-levels at the Hertfordshire and Essex High School in Bishop's Stortford.

Liam Byrne studied History and Politics at the University of Manchester, graduating with a first, and whilst at university was elected Communications Officer of the University of Manchester Students' Union.

Liam Byrne was then a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard Business School, taking an MBA with honours from Harvard University.

Liam Byrne was selected to contest the Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election following the resignation of the veteran Labour MP Terry Davis to become the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe.

Liam Byrne sat on the parliamentary committee that shaped the Road Safety Act 2006, which increased fixed penalty fines for driving while using a mobile.

Liam Byrne's move was seen as an attempt by Reid to reorganise a dysfunctional immigrations system which Liam Byrne completed, as well as establishing UK Border Agency, introduced a points system and developed the idea of earned citizenship.

In May 2007, Liam Byrne announced a consultation document which he said was about "trying to create a much more hostile environment in this country if you are here illegally".

Liam Byrne was promoted in a Cabinet reshuffle on 3 October 2008, becoming Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

In June 2008, Liam Byrne suggested the "August bank holiday" be made a weekend of national celebration in a speech to a New Labour think tank.

In November 2008, an 11-page memo written by Byrne entitled "Working With Liam Byrne" was leaked to the press.

Liam Byrne instructed officials to tell him "not what you think I should know, but you expect I will get asked".

Liam Byrne later claimed that it was just typical humour between politicians but regretted it since the new government used it to justify the wave of cuts that were introduced.

Liam Byrne was Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from January 2011 to October 2013.

Liam Byrne is the Chairman of the APPG on Inclusive Growth, formed in July 2014 upon the request of the Archbishop of Canterbury, with the aim of finding a new consensus on inclusive growth to ensure the benefits of growth are enjoyed by all sectors of society.

Liam Byrne supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election.

Liam Byrne is a member of the Labour Friends of Israel and of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East.

The investigation began when a complaint was lodged with the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme ; the Independent Expert Panel found that Liam Byrne ostracised a former assistant, David Barker, after a minor office dispute, specifically ignoring Barker for three months, including when Barker alerted Liam Byrne as having COVID-19.

In May 2023, Liam Byrne was found to have misused public expenses.

Liam Byrne stated subsequently he accepted the findings but refused to apologise.

In February 2020, Liam Byrne was selected as the Labour candidate for the 2021 West Midlands mayoral election.

Liam Byrne married Sarah Harnett in 1998; the couple have three children.