Kevin Bonavia (born 1977/1978) is a British Labour Party politician serving as a Member of Parliament (MP) for

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

since

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Early life

Bonavia was born to a Maltese father and a Scottish mother. He spent his early childhood in

Rabat, Malta Rabat ( ) is a town in the Western Region of Malta, with a population of 11,497 as of March 2014. It adjoins the ancient capital city of Mdina, and a north-western area formed part of the Roman city of Melite until its medieval retrenchment. ...

before moving to England at age eight. He attended the private

Eltham College Eltham College is a private day school situated in Mottingham, southeast London. Eltham and Mottingham once formed part of the same parish, hence its name. It is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). Early history ...

on a bursary. He graduated from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) in History and completed a postgraduate diploma at the

University of Law The University of Law (founded in 1962 as The College of Law of England and Wales) is a Private university, private Proprietary college, for-profit university in the United Kingdom, providing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in law, busi ...

. Before entering politics, he worked as a litigator and at Steel & Shamash, where he acted for the Labour Party, MPs and councillors on a range of matters, including advising candidates on electoral law issues during the 2005 General Election campaign. He was a youth officer in Birmingham Edgbaston, Greenwich & Woolwich and Lewisham East Constituency Labour Parties. In 2004-05, Bonavia was Chair of the

Young Fabians The Young Fabians is the under age 31 section of the Fabian Society, a socialist society (Labour Party), socialist society in the United Kingdom that is affiliated with the Labour Party (UK). The Young Fabians operate as a membership-driven thin ...

, a

socialist society The Socialist Society was founded in 1981 by a group of British socialists, including Raymond Williams and Ralph Miliband, who founded it as an organisation devoted to socialist education and research, linking the left of the British Labour Part ...

that is affiliated with the

Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party, often referred to as Labour, is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been describe ...

Political career

Bonavia became a councillor for the Blackheath ward in

Lewisham London Borough Council Lewisham London Borough Council, also known as Lewisham Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Lewisham in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour Party ...

in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014 and 2018, stepping down in 2022. In 2014, he became Cabinet Member for Resources in the council. From 2018 to 2022, he held the position of Cabinet Member for Democracy, Refugees and Accountability. On 30 June 2016, Bonavia was one of 600 Labour councillors who signed a public statement calling on

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 ...

to resign as leader and “make way for the new leadership”. On 19 August 2016, Bonavia was one of 1,000 Labour councillors who signed a letter announcing and explaining why they were backing

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 ...

over Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour leadership election. In 2010, Bonavia ran as the Labour Parliamentary Candidate for the Rochford & Southend East constituency, in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, where he came in second place with 20.3% of the vote, a drop of 11.3%. In 2019, Bonavia ran as the Labour Parliamentary Candidate for the Clacton constituency in

, winning 15.5% of the vote, a drop of 9.9%. In 2024, he ran successfully in the

constituency in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, winning 41.4% of the vote, an increase of 6.2%. In November 2024, Bonavia 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:Bonavia, Kevin Living people 1970s births Alumni of the University of Birmingham Alumni of the University of Law Councillors in the London Borough of Lewisham Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Maltese emigrants to the United Kingdom Maltese people of British descent Members of the Fabian Society People educated at Eltham College People from Rabat, Malta UK MPs 2024–present