About Chris
I’m the newly elected Labour Member of Parliament for Bridgend & Porthcawl.
I was previously the Member of Parliament for Ogmore between May 2016 when I was elected in a by-election and the 30th May 2024, when the 2024 General Election was called. The old Ogmore constituency was abolished as part of the Boundary Commission changes.
I have lived in South Wales all of my life and my home is in Brynmenyn where I live with my wife and young son.
Prior to being elected as MP for Ogmore, I worked in a number of roles in further education, office management, public affairs and I served as a full time County Councillor and Cabinet Member leading on Education and Children’s Social Services until 2016 in the Vale of Glamorgan. From 2013 to 2016 I served as an independent member of the Cardiff and Vale Health board. A fact that many will not know is that I originally started out in life working as a butcher!
APPG Work
In addition to my shadow frontbench and select committee responsibilities while MP for Ogmore, I was also a member of a number of APPGs in Parliament that cover a multitude of issues:
- Coalfields (Officer)
- Rwanda (Vice Chair)
- Japan (Vice Chair)
- Greece (Vice Chair)
- Pensions (Vice Chair)
- Food and Drink (member)
- Rural Business (Vice Chair)
- Spain (Vice Chair)
- Veterans
- Gaps in Support
- Wales in the World (Vice Chair)
- PICTFOR (Vice Chair)
My roles and responsibilities in Parliament
I most recently took on the role of Senior Opposition Whip as part of Labour’s Front Bench. Previously, as an Opposition Whip, I was involved with the business and legislation of the House.
From December 2021 to July 2022 I served as Labour’s Shadow Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure.
From October 2016 to 2020 I served as a member of the Opposition Front Bench as an Opposition Whip. From April 2020 to December 2021 I served as Shadow Minister for Scotland.
I also sat on the Procedure Select Committee, which is a crucial committee that is responsible for the smooth running of business in the House. During the Coronavirus pandemic, I worked closely with colleagues in helping to facilitate hybrid proceedings and worked to ensure that MPs were able to participate virtually in the Commons.