Christopher Philip James Elmore (born 23 December 1983) is a Welsh Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

, previously Ogmore, since

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. He has been Comptroller of the Household (Government Whip) since 10 July 2024.

Early life and career

Christopher Elmore was born on 23 December 1983 in Newport and lived in

Brynmawr ; ; ; ) is a market town, community (Wales), community and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Blaenau Gwent, Wales. The town, sometimes cited as the highest town in Wales, is situated at above sea level at ...

and

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; , ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley and separated from the Cardiff suburbs of Lisvane and Rhiwbina by Caerphilly Mountain. It is north of Cardiff an ...

as a child. He started his working life as a trainee butcher and later attended Cardiff Metropolitan University completing a degree in History and Culture in 2005. Elmore then worked in a number of professions including

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...

. In 2008, Elmore was elected as a

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

for Casteland in the

Vale of Glamorgan Council The Vale of Glamorgan Council is the governing body for the Vale of Glamorgan, one of the Subdivisions of Wales, Principal Areas of Wales. History The new Vale of Glamorgan Council unitary authority came into effect on 1 April 1996, following th ...

. Later he was appointed as a cabinet member for children's services and schools.

Parliamentary career

Elmore stood as the Labour candidate in

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( ), locally referred to as ''The Vale'', is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf t ...

at the 2015 general election, coming second with 32.6% of the vote behind the incumbent

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP Alun Cairns. At the 2016 Ogmore by-election, Elmore was elected to Parliament as MP for Ogmore with 52.6% of the vote and a majority of 8,575. In June 2016, Elmore joined the

Justice Select Committee The Justice Select Committee of the United Kingdom is a Select committee (United Kingdom), select committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons which scrutinizes the policy, administration, and spending of the Ministr ...

; he joined the Welsh Affairs Select Committee the following month. In October 2016, he was appointed to the frontbench position of Opposition whip. He supported

Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a British lobbyist and former Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician. Smith was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd (UK Parliament constituency), Pontypridd from 2 ...

in the failed attempt to replace

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election. While an MP, Elmore has particularly focused on issues that impact young people, often speaking in parliament and elsewhere on the subject. Youth engagement was an issue on which Elmore had previously campaigned as a councillor. At the 2017 general election, Elmore was re-elected as MP for Ogmore with an increased vote share of 62.4% and an increased majority of 13,871. In 2017, Elmore was elected as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Rail in Wales. He has been a vocal opponent of the government's 2017 decision to cancel the planned electrification of the Great Western Mainline between Cardiff and Swansea. He has campaigned on issues including passenger safety. Elmore was re-elected at the 2019 general election, with a decreased vote share of 49.7% and a decreased majority of 7,805. In April 2020, Elmore was made Shadow Minister for Scotland by new Labour Party leader

Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...

. In this role he supported Ian Murray, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland. He was also made a senior Opposition whip as a Shadow Lord Commissioner of HM Household. Elmore is a member of

Labour Friends of Israel Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) is a group in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that advocates a strong bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Israel, and seeks to strengthen ties between the British Labour Party (UK), Labour ...

. Due to the

2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...

, Elmore's constituency of Ogmore was abolished, and its southern part transferred to

. At the 2024 general election, Elmore was elected to Parliament as MP for Bridgend with 39.9% of the vote and a majority of 8,595. In November 2024, Elmore voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes to legalise

assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elmore, Chris 1983 births Living people Alumni of Cardiff Metropolitan University Welsh Labour MPs Place of birth missing (living people) UK councillors 2008–2012 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 Welsh Labour councillors People from Newport, Wales Labour Friends of Israel UK MPs 2024–present