Nick Brown was first elected as the Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East in 1983, having been reelected in 2019 with a majority of 15,463.
The Newcastle upon Tyne East constituency contains the Newcastle districts of Jesmond, Walker, Ouseburn, Heaton, and Byker, once the location for the children’s TV programme Byker Grove. This is a safe Labour constituency which, apart from the period 1959 to 1964, has been held by the party continuously since the Second World War. A quarter of the voters in this constituency are said to be students.
A political veteran, Nick Brown previously served in the Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, doing so through the Food and Mouth crisis of 2001.
He also previously served as Government Chief Whip between 2008 and 2010 under then Prime Minister and his political ally, Gordon Brown. He later served as Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons between 2016 and 2021 under Jeremy Corbyn and then Keir Starmer.
He backed Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership in 2020, having backed Yvvette Cooper in the 2015 contest.
Born in 1950, Nick Brown grew up in Hawkhurst just to the south of Tunbridge Wells and worked initially for Proctor and Gamble. He then became the Research Officer in the Northern Region for the General and Municipal Worker’s Union from 1978 to 1983. He served on Newcastle Council between 1980 and 1984. He has been awarded the Freedom of the City of Newcastle.
Nick Brown is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Motorcycle Speedway, and Joint Secretary of the All Parliamentary Group on Opera. A humanist, he is Patron of Humanists UK.
Email: nickbrownmp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: www.nickbrownmp.com/
