Lloyd Russell-Moyle
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (born 14 September 1986) is a British Labour and Co-operative Party politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament for Brighton Kemptown in the 2017 general election. He retained his seat in the 2019 general election.
Early life and education
Russell-Moyle was born on 14 September 1986 in Brighton, England. He studied at the University of Bradford and the University of Sussex.
He worked at the National Youth Agency, chairing The Woodcraft Folk and as vice-president of the European Youth Forum based in Brussels.
Political career
Russell-Moyle served as a councillor on Brighton and Hove City Council in August 2016, before standing for and being elected as MP for Brighton Kemptown in 2017.
In May 2018 Russell-Moyle as the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Youth Affairs launched an inquiry into "the Role and Sufficiency of Youth Work". In the recommendations published in October 2018 Russell-Moyle highlighted the relevance and importance of the inquiry stating, "Over the years youth work has borne the brunt of significant spending cuts. Recent events and reports suggest the loss of youth work has had a negative impact on young people and communities".
On 5 March 2019, Russell-Moyle joined thirteen other Labour MPs on Westminster Bridge, next to the Houses of Parliament, in a protest against Brexit under the banner 'Love Socialism Hate Brexit'. Russell-Moyle was one of a number of MPs to light red flares on the bridge. The use of flares so close to Westminster drew the attention of uniformed police, who arrived by boat to inquire what was taking place.
During Prime Minister's Questions, on 20 March 2019, Russell-Moyle urged Prime Minister Theresa May to "condemn" Andrea Leadsom for the Cabinet Minister's comments on LGBT education.Leadsom had made comments on radio that parents should decide when their children are "exposed" to LGBT education. Leadsom's comments drew anger from many who felt, in Russell-Moyle's words, that "This is Conservative Party dog-whistle politics". Russell-Moyle also criticised the Prime Minister, stating that she had "campaigned to keep Section 28" which prevented the "promotion of homosexuality", which Russell-Moyle said had "led to millions of young people like myself growing in fear of being LGBT".
Russell-Moyle was involved in a physical altercation on 21 March 2019 whilst out showing support for demonstrators leafleting for 'The People's March', a demonstration in support of the People's Vote campaign. Russell-Moyle described how an individual first began arguing with an ITV News crew suggesting that they were part of a "mainstream media conspiracy to stop Brexit".[27] Russell-Moyle then approached the scene and said that he was an MP and that "the majority of [his] constituents had voted Remain". He said that this information exacerbated the situation further with the individual describing MPs as "traitors" and lunging at him.[26][27] The incident took place less than 24 hours after Prime Minister Theresa May gave a speech on Brexit in which she blamed MPs for deliberately delaying her attempt to ensure the UK left the EU by 29 March.
In June 2019, Russell-Moyle was criticised by the Board of Deputies for hosting a Stop the War coalition meeting in Parliament to which a representative of the Yemeni Houthi group, Ahmed Alshami, had been invited. The Board's Vice President stated that "hosting an organisation in the Houses of Parliament whose official slogan includes the phrase ‘death to Israel, curse the Jews’ is utterly unacceptable. Lloyd Russell-Moyle should immediately disavow his support for this event". Russell-Moyle described Alshami as "part of the delegation to the UN process...I support efforts to bring peace to Yemen, encouraging dialogue with people on all sides, however much I disagree with Mr Alshami [sic] views". Russell-Moyle later made his offer to host the meeting conditional on the non-participation of Alshami.
On 12 December 2019, Russell-Moyle was re-elected as a Labour MP to his Brighton Kemptown constituency. His speech on the night, which included an undertaking to "fight [the Tories] in ...the Parliament...the courts...the workplaces...the streets", aroused comment in the press and on social media. In December 2019, Russell-Moyle sparked controversy when he said he was not a "cunt" in refusing to call for Corbyn to resign, during an exchange on instant messenger with a former party member, which was leaked to The Sun.
Russell-Moyle was appointed Shadow Foreign Minister in January 2020, holding the brief for the Americas and Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific and the Overseas Territories. Upon the election of Keir Starmer as party leader, he was appointed as Shadow Minister for Natural Environment and Air Quality.
In April 2020, Russell-Moyle was reported to have shared an unredacted version of a Labour Party dossier into the handling of antisemitism, which contained the names and details of whistle-blowers.
In June 2020, he issued an apology after writing an article for Tribune in which he accused J. K. Rowling of using her experience of domestic abuse and sexual assault to justify discrimination against transgender people.
On 16 July 2020, Russell-Moyle resigned from his frontbench role, citing a "campaign by the right-wing media" which he believes led to him and his staff receiving targeted abuse.
Select Committees and All Party Parliamentary Groups
Lloyd Russell-Moyle is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Youth Affairs. Russell-Moyle is also listed as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kurdistan in Turkey and Syria, which replaced his Chairmanship of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Kurds in Iran; All-Party Parliamentary Group for Rojava (Democratic Federation of Northern Syria) and Vice Chairmanship of Kurds in Turkey in the 2017–2019 Parliament.
Socialist Campaign Group
In 2021 Lloyd Russell-Moyle was member of the Socialist Campaign Group in the House of Parliament.
Cuba Covid letter
April 15 2020, fifty one British members of parliament have written to Dominic Raab, the UK Foreign Secretary and acting Prime Minister to call for the US blockade of Cuba to be temporarily suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Grahame Morris MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cuba, coordinated the letter which asks the British government to make a public statement and to raise the issue directly with its counterparts in the United States’ government.
The letter from the British parliamentarians cites examples from around the world where governments and international organisations have demanded that humanitarian aid be allowed in to Cuba to help the country fight COVID-19. It quotes Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Arancha Gonzalez, Spanish Foreign Minister, and Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, who have all publicly called for sanctions to be suspended to Cuba and other sanctioned countries to allow for the delivery of essential supplies and medicine to stop the spread of the virus.
Yours sincerely,
Grahame Morris MP, Chair, APPG Cuba.
Dan Carden MP, Vice Chair, Kate Osborne MP, Vice Chair, Kim Johnson MP, Vice Chair, Paula Barker MP, Vice Chair, Alison Thewliss MP Allan Dorans MP, Amy Callaghan MP, Andy McDonald MP, Apsana Begum MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Beth Winter MP, Carol Monaghan MP, Chris Law MP, Chris Stephens MP, Claudia Webbe MP, Clive Lewis MP, Dave Doogan MP, Diane Abbott MP, Geraint Davies MP, Ian Byrne MP, Ian Mearns MP, Ian Lavery MP, Imran Hussain MP, Joanna Cherry MP, John McDonnell MP, Jon Trickett MP, Kate Osamor MP, Kenny MacAskill MP, Kirsten Oswald MP, Kirsty Blackman MP, Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP, Margaret Ferrier MP, Marion Fellowes MP, Martyn Day MP, Mary Kelly Foy MP, Mick Whitley MP, Mike Amesbury MP, Mike Hill MP, Navendu Mishra MP, Olivia Blake MP, Owen Thompson MP, Rachel Hopkins MP, Richard Burgon MP, Ronnie Cowan MP, Sam Tarry MP, Sarah Champion MP, Stephen Bonnar MP, Stephen Flynn MP, Yasmin Qureshi MP, Zarah Sultana MP[1]
2020 Justice for Colombia delegation
The fourth delegation of the Justice for Colombia Peace Monitor visited Colombia between 16 and 21 February 2020. Formed of European parliamentarians and trade union officials, the delegation met with diverse actors in the Colombian peace process, as well as communities, trade unions and organisations impacted by human rights violations.
The delegates on the fourth JFC Peace Monitor mission to Colombia were:
- Clive Efford MP, Member of Parliament in the UK Parliament
- Neil Findlay MSP, Member of Parliament in the Scottish Parliament
- Adelina Escandell Grases, Senator in the Spanish state Senate
- Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP, Member of Parliament in the UK Parliament
- Sergio Bassoli, Political Officer, CGIL (Italy)
- Josie Bird, President, UNISON (Britain and Northern Ireland)
- Douglas Chalmers, President, UCU (Britain and Northern Ireland)
- David Kitchen, President, NASUWT (Britain and Northern Ireland)
- Margaret McKee, Chair of International Committee, UNISON (Britain and Northern Ireland)
- Gerry Murphy, President, ICTU (Ireland)
- Susan Quinn, Education Convener, EIS (Scotland)
- Hans Abildgard Sorensen, Regional President, 3F (Denmark)