KINNOCK
Stephen

• 1. Political career
• 1.1. COVID-19 non-compliance allegation
• 1.2. Assisted dying

Stephen Nathan Kinnock is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberafan Maesteg, formerly Aberavon, since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, he has served as Minister of State for Care since 2024. He also was Spouse of the Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015.

Political career

In March 2014, Kinnock was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the seat of Aberavon in Wales for the 2015 General Election. He defeated candidates including Jeremy Miles to win the selection. On 7 May 2015, he was elected the Member of Parliament for Aberavon with a majority of 10,445.

Kinnock was appointed Parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the shadow Business, Innovation and Skills team in September 2015. He resigned as PPS in June 2016 and supported Owen Smith's failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour leadership election.

During the 2017 general election campaign, Kinnock was one of four MPs critical of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party who were followed for six weeks for the BBC documentary Labour: The Summer that Changed Everything. The documentary showed Kinnock predicting the poll would "not be a good night" for Labour, and his response to Labour gains in the election. He was re-elected in 2017 with an increased majority of 16,761, and 68.1% of the vote share.

Kinnock held his seat at the 2019 general election with a majority of 10,490 and a vote share of 53.8%. He endorsed Lisa Nandy in the 2020 Labour leadership election.

Following Keir Starmer's election as Labour Leader in April 2020, he was appointed as Shadow Asia and Pacific Minister. Kinnock changed role in the December 2021 front bench reshuffle, becoming Shadow Armed Forces Minister, and moved again in February 2022, following Jack Dromey's death, to become Shadow Immigration Minister. His constituency boundary changed and he won re-election in the 4 July 2024 General election.

COVID-19 non-compliance allegation

Kinnock posted a photo on Twitter after travelling from Wales to London to visit his father on his birthday on 28 March 2020 – five days after the lockdown came into force. They were social distancing, but South Wales Police responded: "We know celebrating your Dad's birthday is a lovely thing to do; however, this is not essential travel. We all have our part to play in this, we urge you to comply with @GOVUK restrictions, they are in place to keep us all safe. Thank you." Kinnock stated that "this was essential travel as I had to deliver some necessary supplies to my parents".

Assisted dying

Kinnock stated in November 2024 that he would vote in favour of legislation on assisted dying. He said the bill introduced by Kim Leadbeater was the ‘compassionate thing’ to do, and insisted that it would not increase costs for the NHS: a direct contradiction of his own Secretary of State, Wes Streeting. Kinnock served on the committee examining the legislation.