Peter Richard Prinsley (born 8 April 1958) is a British Labour Party politician, who was elected as Member of Parliament for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

held on 4 July 2024.

Early life and education

Prinsley was born on 8 April 1958 in

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, England. He was educated at Guisborough Grammar School, a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

Guisborough Guisborough ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of the North York Moors National Park. Roseberry Topping, midway between the town and Great Ayton, is a landmark i ...

Career

Prinsley is an

otorhinolaryngologist Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the surgical an ...

by profession (a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

specialising in diseases of the ear, nose, and throat). He was educated at

Sheffield Medical School The University of Sheffield Medical School is a Medical school (United Kingdom), medical school based at the University of Sheffield in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The school traces its history back to at least 1828. It operated indepe ...

. Before being elected to Parliament, he worked as a

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

ENT surgeon at the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital, James Paget University Hospital and in private practice. He has an interest in

Otology Otology is a branch of medicine which studies normal, pathological anatomy and physiology of the ear (hearing). Otology also studies vestibular sensory systems, related structures and functions, as well as their diseases, diagnosis and trea ...

and taught at

Norwich Medical School Norwich Medical School is a medical school based at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich, England. It is part of the Faculty of Medicine and Health sciences at the university. The first intake of students was in 2002. The school has a 5-year ...

. After working as a consultant surgeon for 20 years, Prinsley studied for a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

degree at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

. He has published on a variety of academic topics with a particular focus on

Cholesteatoma Cholesteatoma is a destructive and expanding growth consisting of keratinizing squamous epithelium in the middle ear and/or mastoid process. Cholesteatomas are not cancerous as the name may suggest, but can cause significant problems because of the ...

. Since becoming an MP an article of his has been published on the 'Epidemiology of Cholesteatoma in the UK Biobank'. Prinsley has been a regional director for the Royal College of Surgeons, and was the chair of the Norfolk Deaf Association. Prinsley was elected as a Norwich City councillor in 2023. He is a member of

Jewish Labour Movement The Jewish Labour Movement (JLM), known as Poale Zion (Great Britain) from 1903 to 2004, is one of the oldest socialist societies affiliated to the UK Labour Party. It is a member of the progressive coalition of Avodah/ Meretz/ Arzenu/ Amein ...

and GMB.

Member of Parliament

Prinsley had sought selection as Labour candidate for both

Norwich North Norwich North is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament represented by Alice Macdonald, member of the Labour Party, after winning the seat in the 2024 general election. The constituency includes parts of two local governm ...

and

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

, but was unsuccessful. After the 2024 election was called, the Labour Party told him he had been selected to fight Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, and his successful election was seen as a surprise win in an area that has traditionally been heavily

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 ...

. He defeated Conservative candidate

Will Tanner William Tanner is a former British political adviser who most recently served as Deputy Chief of Staff to the former Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. Career Tanner served as one of Theresa May's special advisers from 2014 whilst she was Home Secr ...

, who had previously served as the Deputy Chief of Staff to Prime Minister

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...

. He campaigned in an old Post Office van, decorated with photographs of him in surgical

scrubs Scrub(s) may refer to: * Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland * Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff * ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program * Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," ...

, becoming one of the oldest first-time MPs. He has said that, regarding the jobs of surgeon and MP, 'both of these roles have their uses'. In October 2024, Prinsley suggested that £100m spent on F-35 fighter jets for

HMS Queen Elizabeth HMS ''Queen Elizabeth'' could refer to one of three ships named in honour of Elizabeth I of England: * was the lead ship of the s, launched in 1913 and scrapped in 1948 * HMS ''Queen Elizabeth'' was to have been the first of the 1960s planned CV ...

would be better spent on the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

. He is the vice-chair of the APPG on Deafness, an officer for the APPG on Vascular and Venous Disease, and a member of the APPGs on the East of England, Health and British Sign Language.

Personal life

He is Jewish and attends Norwich Synagogue. His wife, Dr Marian Prinsley, is a retired psychologist and former president of the Norwich Hebrew Congregation who became the Sheriff of Norwich in 2019. Mr Prinsley's brother-in-law is John Schlapobersky, a group psychotherapist and anti-apartheid activist who was a Founding Trustee of the Medical Foundation for Victims of Torture. The Prinsleys have three adult children and are grandparents.

References

External links

* Living people UK MPs 2024–present Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Jewish British politicians 1958 births {{Labour-UK-MP-stub