Charalambos "Bambos" Charalambous (born 2 December 1967) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Enfield Southgate since

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, and the Shadow Minister for the Middle East and North Africa since 2021.

Early life

Charalambous was raised in

Bowes Park Bowes Park () is situated on the borders of Wood Green, Palmers Green and Bounds Green in London, England. The postcodes for Bowes Park are N13 and N22. The border between the London boroughs of Enfield and Haringey goes through the area. Bow ...

in north London. His parents come from Kalo Chorio and Fasoulla, both near

Limassol Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...

, in Cyprus. He was educated at Tottenhall Infants' School, St Michael-at-Bowes Junior School (where he is now a school governor), Chace Boys' Comprehensive School, followed by Tottenham College and then

Liverpool Polytechnic , mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold , established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University , type = Public , endowment = , coor ...

(now Liverpool John Moores University). He read for a law degree and was elected as vice president of the

Students' Union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

in 1990.

Career

Charalambous is a solicitor. Before and until his election as MP, he worked for

Hackney Council Hackney London Borough Council is the local government authority for the London Borough of Hackney, London, England, one of 32 London borough councils. The council is unusual in the United Kingdom local government system in that its executive fu ...

in their housing litigation team. Charalambous served as a member of

Enfield Council Enfield London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Enfield in Greater London, England. It is one of 32 London borough councils in the United Kingdom capital of London. History There have previously been a number of ...

for the

Palmers Green Palmers Green is a suburban area and electoral ward in North London, England, within the London Borough of Enfield. It is located within the N13 postcode district, around north of Charing Cross. It is home to the largest population of Greek Cy ...

ward for 24 years. He also served as an Associate Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture, Localism and Young People.

Parliamentary career

Charalambous was the Labour candidate for

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, losing to the Conservative incumbent

Eleanor Laing Dame Eleanor Fulton Laing, (' Pritchard; born 1 February 1958) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Epping Forest constituency since 1997. Laing is a member of the Conservative Party and has served as a De ...

. He later contended Enfield Southgate in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, before being elected in 2017, unseating

David Burrowes David John Barrington Burrowes (born 12 June 1969) is a British politician. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate from 2005 to 2017, is the co-founder of the Conservative Christian Fellowship. He has been the Chair ...

who had served as the MP for that constituency since 2005. Charalambous served on the

Justice Select Committee The Justice Select Committee of the United Kingdom is a select committee of the House of Commons which scrutinizes the policy, administration, and spending of the Ministry of Justice. In addition, the committee examines the work of the Law Offi ...

. He also served as a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on London, Cyprus, Crossrail Two, Autism, Sex Equality, Music, Global Education For All and London's Planning and Built Environment. In January 2018, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to

Rebecca Long-Bailey Rebecca Roseanne Long-Bailey (' Long; born 22 September 1979), is a British politician and former solicitor serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Salford and Eccles since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, Long-Bailey served in the Shadow ...

, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. In December 2018, he was appointed as an Opposition (

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

) Whip. Charalambous was appointed as a Shadow Minister for Justice in January 2020. Following

Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras ...

's election as Labour leader in April 2020, he joined the shadow Home Office team as the Shadow Minister for Crime Reduction and Courts. Charalambous swapped roles with

Holly Lynch Holly Lynch (born 8 October 1986), also known as Holly Walker-Lynch, is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Halifax since 2015. She was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Crime Reduction and Courts ...

in a minor reshuffle in May 2021, becoming the Shadow Minister for Immigration.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charalambous, Bambos 1967 births Living people Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People from Enfield, London UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present English people of Greek Cypriot descent English solicitors People educated at Chace Community School Alumni of Liverpool John Moores University Alumni of The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London Councillors in the London Borough of Enfield Labour Party (UK) councillors