Kevin Brennan (politician)

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For other persons of the same name, see Kevin Brennan.

Kevin Denis Brennan (born 16 October 1959) is a British politician. He is the Labour Member of Parliament for Cardiff West and a Government Whip and Lord Commissioner of HM Household.

Kevin Brennan was born in Cwmbran, the son of a steelworker and a school dinner lady, and is a Welshman of Irish origins. He was educated at St Alban's Roman Catholic Comprehensive School in Pontypool and Pembroke College, Oxford. He graduated in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1982, and was elected President of the Oxford Union in the same year. After Oxford he returned to Wales to study at the University College of Wales, Cardiff where he qualified as a teacher with a PGCE in history in 1985. He finished his education with a master's degree in Education Management at the University of Glamorgan in 1992.

In 1982 Kevin Brennan joined the Cwmbran Community Press as a journalist. He joined the National Union of Teachers in 1984 before becoming a teacher at Radyr Comprehensive School in 1985. He left the school in 1994 as Head of the Economics Department. He had been elected as a councillor on the Cardiff City Council in 1991 and remained on the council until his election to Westminster.

He was appointed as a research officer by Rhodri Morgan MP in 1995 and joined the Transport and General Workers Union. Brennan was elected as the Chairman of the Cardiff West Constituency Labour Party 1998-2000. On October 16, 2000, Morgan became the First Minister of Wales, and Brennan was appointed a Special Advisor.

Rhodri Morgan stepped down from the Westminster parliament to concentrate his efforts as First Minister. He was succeeded as the Labour MP for Cardiff West at the 2001 General Election by Kevin Brennan who held the seat with a majority of 11,321. Brennan made his maiden speech on June 20, 2001. He became the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alan Milburn in 2004. Following the 2005 General Election he was promoted to Tony Blair's government as an Assistant Government Whip.