Rt Hon Kevin Barron MP

Kevin Barron MP was born in 1946 in Hazlewood Castle, Tadcaster. 

He began his working life as an underground electrician at Maltby Colliery. After studying social sciences at Sheffield University on a day release course, he then went on to Ruskin College, Oxford as a mature student.

He was first elected as Member of Parliament for the Rother Valley in the 1983 general election when the constituency was divided into two. During the late 1980s and early 1990s he served as Shadow Minister for Energy, Employment and later Health.

Kevin has always had a strong interest in public health and in 1993 was the originator of a Private Members Bill to ban the advertising and promotion of tobacco products. In July 1996 he was duly appointed to the newly created position of Shadow Minister for Public Health. 

After the 1997 general election Kevin was selected to sit on the Intelligence and Security Committee which oversees the Intelligence Services and is the only committee to report directly to the Prime Minister.

He also chaired the Parliamentary Labour Party Health Committee from 1997 to 2002 and chaired several All-Party Parliamentary Groups including those related to the Pharmaceutical Industry and Smoking and Health.

In 2005 Kevin was appointed Chair of the Health Select Committee.

The same year he also became a member of both the Liaison Committee and the Standards and Privilege.