Neil Coyle
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Neil Alan John Coyle (born 30 December 1978) is a British
Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
politician who has served 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 o ...
(MP) for Bermondsey and Old Southwark since 2015. He was elected MP as a member of the Labour Party, but was suspended from the party on 11 February 2022. He previously served as a member of
Southwark London Borough Council Southwark London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. History There have previously been a numbe ...
from 2010 to 2016.


Early life and education

Coyle grew up in
Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...
and is one of six children. He went to Wenlock and Ashcroft schools before being educated at the Bedford School, an independent school for boys founded in 1552. He received a BA in British Politics and Legislative Studies from the
University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...
. From 2001 to 2003, he lived in China. Coyle was elected as a councillor for Newington ward in the Southwark London Borough Council election 2010. As a councillor, he supported the unsuccessful
Garden Bridge The Garden Bridge project was an unsuccessful private proposal for a pedestrian bridge over the River Thames in London, England. Originally an idea of Joanna Lumley, and strongly supported by then-Mayor of London Boris Johnson, the designer Tho ...
project, on which his wife worked as a landscape architect. He was deputy mayor of Southwark from 2014 to 2015. He stood down as a councillor in 2016.


Parliamentary career

Coyle defeated the
Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...
incumbent,
Simon Hughes Sir Simon Henry Ward Hughes (born 17 May 1951) is a former British politician. He is now the Chancellor of London South Bank University, an External Adviser to The Open University, and UK Strategic Adviser to Talgo. Hughes was Deputy Leader ...
, to take the seat of Bermondsey and Old Southwark at the 2015 general election. He was one of 36 Labour MPs to nominate
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
as a candidate in the Labour leadership election of 2015. Following his election, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons. Following the May 2016 elections, he co-wrote an article with Jo Cox which said that they had "come to regret" the decision of voting to make
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
leader of the opposition. After the article was published, Coyle resigned from the shadow cabinet. He then supported
Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a former Labour Party politician and subsequently a British lobbyist, who has been the UK government relations director for pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb since 2020. Smith was Member of Parliamen ...
in his unsuccessful attempt to replace
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
in the 2016 leadership election. Coyle was highly critical of Corbyn and wrote a series of articles arguing against his position on several key issues, such as terrorism and
Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...
. In the 2016 referendum on the UK leaving the European Union (EU), Coyle campaigned to remain. In February 2017, Coyle was one of 47 Labour MPs who defied the party's
three-line whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology o ...
to vote against triggering Article 50 for the UK to leave the EU and has called for it to be revoked. Coyle sits on the
Work and Pensions Select Committee The Work and Pensions Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Work and Pensi ...
. At the 2017 snap general election, Coyle increased his majority. He chairs the
All-Party Parliamentary Group An all-party parliamentary group (APPG) is a grouping in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that is composed of members of parliament from all political parties, but have no official status within Parliament. Description and functions All-party ...
(APPG) for Wines and Spirits, the secretariat for which is provided by the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, which is based in Coyle's constituency. He also chairs the APPG for Foodbanks, which he established in 2017, as well as those for Ending Homelessness and Counter Extremism. He is a member of the
Co-operative Party The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, supporting co-operative values and principles. Established in 1917, the Co-operative Party was founded by co-operative societies to campaign politically for the fair ...
and
Progressive Britain Progressive Britain, formerly known as Progress, is a political organisation associated with the British Labour Party, founded in 1996 to support the New Labour leadership of Tony Blair. It is seen as being on the right of the party. Progress ...
. In February 2019, Coyle said that he had declined an invitation to join The Independent Group, later
Change UK The Independent Group for Change, also known as Change UK, was a British centrist, pro-European Union political party, founded in February 2019 and dissolved ten months later, shortly after all its MPs lost their seats in the 2019 general e ...
, a splinter group of centrist Labour and
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
MPs that formed that month. In May 2021, Coyle reported Corbyn to the
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons. The work of the officer is overseen by the Commons Select Committee on Standards. The current commissioner is Kathryn Stone. Duties The commissioner i ...
, claiming that Corbyn had failed to declare full legal funding. The Commissioner did not uphold the complaint, noting there was no requirement to register legal support from a membership organisation. On 11 February 2022, as a result of controversial statements by Coyle, the Labour whip was suspended from him and he was barred from all bars on the Westminster estate (see Alleged Sinophobia below). Coyle also had his Labour Party membership administratively suspended, pending an investigation.


Controversial statements


Boris Johnson

Coyle has been criticised for his use of language in public on a number of occasions. In September 2019, Coyle referred to Prime Minister
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
on British television as "a dick." Following the incident, Coyle spoke with the ''
Southwark News ''Southwark News'' is a weekly local newspaper based in Southwark, south London, England. It is the only independent, paid-for newspaper in London. The newspaper is owned and run by Southwark Newspaper Limited, based in Bermondsey. ''Southwark N ...
'', saying his constituents had complained about his use of language, suggesting he doesn't "need to be that crude." Coyle told the ''Southwark News'', "I will be toning down the language but never the passion."


Brexit and Piers Morgan

A month after the first incident, Coyle again used inappropriate language on his
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account. During the
Labour Party Conference The Labour Party Conference is the annual conference of the British Labour Party. It is formally the supreme decision-making body of the party and is traditionally held in the final week of September, during the party conference season when th ...
, Corbyn made a Brexit statement that the Labour Party would not be immediately backing either leave or remain. Many Labour MPs voiced their concerns, but Coyle went a step further by describing Corbyn's stance as "bullshit". Coyle again received media coverage after a day of strongly-worded statements in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
. Labour MPs and their leader,
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
, were critical of Boris Johnson's use of language, including when Johnson suggested that the best way to honour Jo Cox was to deliver Brexit. Journalist and presenter
Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is a British broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, aged 29, he was ...
then tweeted about the use of Jo Cox's name, saying "Parliament has reached a new low on all sides. Disgraceful." Coyle replied on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
in several posts, telling Morgan to "go fuck yourself," while also calling him a "sick little man" and a "scrote."


Jacob Rees-Mogg

On 25 August 2020, in a now deleted tweet, Coyle wrote, "I have spent years warning local people that these fat old racists won't stop blaming the EU when their shit hits the fan. Here they come blaming others. Absolute shitbag racist wankers." This was in response to a tweet by fellow parliamentarian
Jacob Rees-Mogg Jacob William Rees-Mogg (born 24 May 1969) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset since 2010. Now a backbencher, he served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council f ...
, who had criticised the BBC's decision to omit the traditional singing of "
Rule, Britannia "Rule, Britannia!" is a British Patriotism, patriotic song, originating from the 1740 poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson (poet, born 1700), James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in the same year. It is most strongly associated w ...
" which ordinarily took place during the final evening of the
Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
. Coyle followed this tweet up with a further tweet, referring to the song, "If you didn't hate it before, feel free to hate the song now. I've never known anyone but shitlickers like it tbh." Coyle later apologised for his tweets. Later in 2020 Rees-Mogg accused
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
of a political stunt after it announced for the first time in its 70-year history it would be providing food parcels to children in deprived areas of London prior to Christmas. Rees-Mogg said that UNICEF were "playing politics when it is meant to be looking after people in the poorest, the most deprived countries in the world, where people are starving, where there are famines and where there are civil wars." Rees-Mogg was branded a " Scrooge" by Coyle, who invited Rees-Mogg to visit Coyle's constituency, one of the affected areas.


Jewish Voice for Labour

In September 2021 Sir Geoffrey Bindman QC, Emeritus Professor Avi Shlaim and Harold Immanuel lodged complaints with the Labour Party about comments made by Coyle which they regarded as antisemitic. Immanuel said "I am a Jewish member of the Labour Party. His call for the mass expulsion of Jewish members of the Labour Party who are also part of JVL (
Jewish Voice for Labour Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) is an organisation formed in 2017 for British Jews, Jewish members of the Labour Party (UK), UK Labour Party. Its aims include a commitment "to strengthen the party in its opposition to all forms of racism, includ ...
) is an antisemitic slur on Jewish members of the Party...It breaches Labour Party rule 2.1.8 which requires the NEC to regard any incident which in their view might reasonably be seen to demonstrate hostility or prejudice based on race religion or belief as conduct prejudicial to the Party.".


Swearing

On 31 January 2022 Coyle was alleged to have been involved in a swearing fit at a Labour aide in a Westminster bar following a disagreement about the effects of
Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...
and told a Conservative MP who intervened to calm the dispute to "fuck off and lose some weight".


Alleged Sinophobia

In early February 2022, Coyle was accused of making Sinophobic remarks on 1 February to Henry Dyer, a political reporter of British-Chinese origin. It was reported Coyle said to Dyer that he could tell "from how you look like you've been giving renminbi to Barry Gardiner", following the latter's receiving funds from an agent of the Chinese state. According to Dyer, while discussing Gardiner, Coyle also said he had been funded by "
Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu () is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character featured in cinema, television, radio, com ...
". Consequently, on 11 February, Coyle had the Labour whip suspended pending an investigation and was banned from all bars on the Westminster estate. After the suspension, Coyle apologised for his "insensitive comments" and said he would be cooperating with the investigation.


Personal life

Coyle married Sarah Lindars in 2014. His wife is a landscape architect and they have one daughter. Coyle has written about the impact on his family of his mother's mental ill-health.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coyle, Neil 1978 births Alumni of the University of Hull Councillors in the London Borough of Southwark Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) councillors Living people People educated at Bedford School People from Luton UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present