Ellie Reeves

Ellie Reeves      (Politician, Barrister)
Parachuted in at Lewisham West and Penge
Born	Eleanor Claire Reeves 11 December 1980
Nationality	British
Spouse	John Cryer
Party	Labour
Relatives	Rachel Reeves
Shadow Minister for Prisons and Probation In office 4 December 2021 - Present Appointed by Keir Starmer  Shadow Solicitor General  In office 9 April 2020 - 4 December 2021 Appointed by Keir Starmer  Member of Parliament for Lewisham West and Penge In office 8 June 2017 - Present  Member and Vice-Chair In office 2006 - 2016 Employer Labour's National Executive Committee  Barrister In office 2016 - Present Employer Monaco Solicitors  Salaried Partner In office 2011 - 2016 Employer OH Parsons LLP  Senior Executive In office 2007 - 2011 Employer Thompsons Solicitors

Ellie Reeves, a barrister specialising in employment law and Blairite former member of Labour's National Executive Committee, is married to John Cryer MP (chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party).

She is the younger sister of Shadow Cabinet member Rachel Reeves MP, who refused to serve under former Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn.

On 26 April 2017, Ellie Reeves was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for the safe Labour seat at Lewisham West and Penge in the UK/2017 General Election. She was elected with a 23,174 majority over Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate.

On 9 April 2020, Ellie Reeves was appointed Shadow Solicitor General by newly elected Labour leader Keir Starmer.

Involvement with Labour First

Ellie Reeves has consistently received support from the right-wing Labour Party faction, Labour First. The National Secretary of Labour First is Luke Akehurst . Labour First opposed the election of Jeremy Corbyn and has persistently been described as "anti-Corbyn".

Failed Harassment Allegations Against Blogger

According to a blogger Sam Smith who writes the blog Matthew Hopkins News, Ellie Reeves reported him to the police for harassment upon receiving a draft of his article, "Ellie Reeves MP and the Corpses of Children", for comment. After he spoke to a Detective Inspector however, the police decided to take no formal action against him and did not give him a harassment warning. Aside from the failed allegation of harassment, Reeves has never denied the truth of the allegations made by Matthew Hopkins News and did not respond to requests for comment.

LOTO fuss about little

On Tuesday 2 July 2019, PoliticsHome revealed that a party member in Ellie Reeves' Lewisham West and Penge constituency wanted her to face a "trigger ballot", which could have seen her replaced as the party's candidate for the next General Election. The party member said:

"I would like to put forward a motion of no confidence in Ellie Reeves our MP for signing Tom Watson MP letter regarding Chris Williamson MP at our next meeting and also start the new trigger process to deselect our MP which you should have received from Jennie Formby."

The 22-weeks' pregnant MP complained to the Leader of the Opposition's office (LOTO) whose spokesman said:

"It would be wrong to bring a motion of no confidence against a pregnant MP who will soon be on maternity leave.

"No motion has been formally moved or tabled. And in any case, motions of no confidence have no formal standing and do not result in trigger ballots. Any MP who is on parental leave will not undergo reselection processes until they return from leave."

Ellie Reeves said:

"I was really pleased to receive a message from LOTO this morning saying the leader has stated he does not support the no confidence vote. This was the support I was hoping for when I contacted them about it on Monday."

NEC Vice-Chair

On 7 July 2016, Ellie Reeves posted on her Facebook page:

The ballot for the Labour Party National Executive Committee (NEC) elections opens on Monday. In the candidate booklet every candidate gets a 200-word election address. Here's mine:

"About Ellie: I have spent my life fighting for rights at work. As a trade union lawyer I represented blacklisted construction workers, I now provide help to women facing pregnancy discrimination. For 10 years I’ve been a strong voice for grassroots members on the NEC, elected with broad support across our party.

"Fighting back: This government is attacking our communities and the EU Referendum result was devastating. We need a Labour government more than ever. We must re-engage voters in our heartlands and re-connect in the marginals. The next Labour government should:

• Reverse the privatisation of the NHS;
• Support comprehensive education;
• Repeal attacks on employment rights, abolish tribunal fees;
• Invest in maternity services & Sure Start;
• Build council housing, regulate the private rented sector.

"A strengthened Party: Members are the life-blood of our party. I report back after meetings and have the experience and independence to face the challenges ahead. I support:

• A cap on spending in parliamentary selections;
• Giving members a greater say in policy making;
• A social media code of conduct;
• Welcoming new members, valuing the commitment of our longstanding ones;
• Increased representation for women, LGBT, BAME, young and disabled members.

"I’m backing Akehurst, Bailey, Baxter, Dhanda, Wheeler.

Disaffection

Corbynistas

Jeremy Owen responded to Ellie Reeves: I'm told NEC candidates backed by Momentum as supporting Jeremy Corbyn are:

• Ann Black
• Rhea Wolfson
• Claudia Webbe
• Darren Williams
• Christine Shawcroft
• Peter Willsman

Censoring social media

Nick Diamantis added: Sorry Ellie but backing Luke Akehurst is a vote loser. That and your call for censorship on social media. It says everything that needs to be said about the authoritarian right of our party. Democracy is precious, don't support its destruction.

Voted off

On 27 September 2016, a meeting of the National Executive Committee attended by CLP representative Ann Black recorded:

Normally the Vice-Chair moves up to Chair and the next longest-serving member becomes Vice-Chair, but nothing now is normal. Ellie Reeves, Vice-Chair last year, was not re-elected to the NEC and Keith Vaz, next in line, said he would not throw his hat in the ring at the moment. There were nominations for Andy Kerr and Glenis Willmott MEP as Chair, and Glenis was elected by 18 votes to 17. I voted for her, as few leaders of the European PLP serve for long enough to become Chair, and in the year of Brexit and consequent upheaval it sends a powerful message of solidarity and reconciliation. Andy Kerr will be Vice-Chair and can expect to succeed as Chair next year, giving him two years as an NEC officer.

 

Event Participated in

Event	Location(s)	Description
UK/Parliament/Voted YES to vaccine passports in 2021	UK/House of Commons	These members of the UK Parliament voted YES to the introduction of a "vaccine" passport in 2021

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