Over the weekend, Peter Kyle was named as the new Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).
The former secretary at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) takes over during a turbulent period for global trade, with promises of a new vision for tech-fuelled economic growth.
Background
Born in West Sussex, Kyle’s grandfather and father were born and raised in Liverpool. In an interview with The Rest is Politics in March this year, he said how he was initially born into a terraced home outside of Bogner Regis, before moving to a leafy suburb as his dad’s glass company took off.
Initially, he supported remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum. In 2022, as shadow Northern Ireland minister, he advocated for Labour presenting “a more positive vision for a better Britain” outside the EU and firmly ruled out rejoining the single market.
Entry into politics
Prior to entering politics, he studied at the University of Sussex and then worked in the non-profit sector, including helping to establish an orphanage in Romania.
He also worked on social exclusion as a policy official in the Cabinet Office.
In 2015, he won the seat of Hove and Portslade from the Conservatives. Hove, on the edge of Brighton, has swung to Labour over the past decade.
After initially taking the seat from Mike Weatherley with a majority of 1,868, he has been re-elected three times: most recently with a majority of almost 20,000.
Early in his tenure, he served on the business and trade committee in the House of Commons. Moving up the ranks, he earned all of his shadow frontbench experience under Starmer as Labour leader.
He first became a shadow minister for victims and justice in 2020, later moving on to handle the education, Northern Ireland and technology briefs.
Ministerial years
The year he spent in DSIT offers some indication of the approach he might take at DBT. The department hired a number of dedicated scientific advisers from industry shortly after his appointment in 2024.
As the government’s tech lead, he reached out to industry and spoke about building a positive environment for technology and innovation. An additional focus has been fuelling economic growth through tech, as well as building up civil servants’ AI skills.
On his first day as trade minister, Kyle already looked to bring this across. As reported by Sky News, talked up an “ambitious” growth agenda. This included the goal of having the UK’s first ever trillion-dollar company.
“I want government to be seen as an active partner that delivers success, supports new business and backs wealth creation,” he said.
He also said that he would be coordinating work with other departments, mirroring an approach he had taken as technology minister when dealing with government policy on data.
AI
The new trade chief has talked early and often about building up the UK’s AI sector and encouraging its adoption across business and government.
“Artificial intelligence will shape our economies, our security, and our place in the world,” he said in one of his last public appearances as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on 4 September.
“Those who wield it in their national interest – who invest in the right skills and hardware, while they have the chance…will be the economic superpowers of the future.”
He talked up AI’s use as a possible life-saving device. In 2023, after seeing AI used in hospitals, he told the Telegraph:
“Had my mum benefited from a scan in this hospital she would still be alive today.”
His mother, Jo Kyle, died from lung cancer cancer in 2021, only weeks after collapsing and being admitted to hospital.
Personal
Amid a successful political career, Kyle has talked about the sadness of losing both his mother and his partner within the space of a week and how he dealt with that grief in the public eye.
Kyle’s partner’s death in 2012, was followed only six days later by his mother’s. He told the Times that “2012, the year of the Olympics, one of the best years for many people, was the worst year of my life.
“I was on autopilot. There was constant adrenaline. Then afterwards, silence.”
An openly gay man, he told the Rest is Politics of his experience of coming out to his parents as a young adult, both of whom reacted well.
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