Dan Jarvis was first elected as the Labour MP for Barnsley Central in a 2011 by-election, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 3,571.
He serves as Shadow Minister for Security, having been appointed to the role in Keir Starmer’s September 2023 reshuffle.
The Barnsley Central constituency contains the bulk of the town of Barnsley alongside the smaller town of Royston in the north of South Yorkshire. This is a former mining area in which income levels are below the national average. This area has consistently supported the Labour Party ever since the Second World War. In the 2019 General Election, the Brexit Party secured their best performance anywhere in the UK in this seat, coming second and polling over 30% of the vote. In the 2016 EU referendum, some 68% of the electorate supported ‘Leave’.
Jarvis was elected as the Metro Mayor of the Sheffield City Region in 2018. He chose to combine this role, whilst remaining as an MP, something that is possible because unlike the roles in Manchester and West Yorkshire, the post in Sheffield is not merged with the Police and Crime Commissioner responsibilities. Jarvis stood down from the role after one term in May 2022.
Dan Jarvis was born in Nottingham in 1972. He attended Aberystwyth University in 1996 and then the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Jarvis is a former army officer in the Parachute Regiment who rose to the rank of Major, and was subsequently awarded an MBE. He was a former Platoon Commander with 1 Para, and an Aide de Camp to General Sir Mike Jackson. He undertook tours in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
In 2007, Jarvis served in combat in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, with the Conservative MP, Tom Tugendhat. The two are said to be good friends.
In January 2011, Jarvis became the first person since Second World War to resign his commission in order to contest a parliamentary by-election.
In the past he has been tipped as a future Labour Party leader, but has never formally stood in any of the most recent leadership contests.
Jarvis voted for Britain to remain in the European Union in the 2016 referendum. However he was one of just a small number of Labour MPs who eventually supported Boris Johnson’s 2020 withdrawal agreement.
He also formerly rebelled against the Labour Party leadership to support air strikes against ISIS in Syria.
Jarvis is married with three children. He lists his interest as running, hill walking, and cycling.
Email: officeofdan.jarvis.mp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: http://www.danjarvismp.co.uk/
Twitter: @DanJarvisMP
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dowjarvis
