Paul Flynn

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Paul Philip Flynn (born 9 February 1935) has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newport West since the 1987 general election. He was born in Cardiff of Welsh/Irish parentage. In 2016, he briefly served as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales and Shadow Leader of the House of Commons. Aged 82, he became the oldest MP in over a century to hold a shadow cabinet position.

Political career
Flynn was a member of the Newport Borough Council in 1972–1981 and to the Gwent County Council 1974–1982. He unsuccessfully contested Denbigh at the October 1974 General Election where he was defeated by the Conservative, Geraint Morgan, by 4,551 votes. He was elected to the House of Commons for Newport West at the 1987 general election, defeating the Conservative Mark Robinson, who had unexpectedly won the seat at the 1983 election. Flynn defeated Robinson by 2,708 votes and has remained the MP since.

Flynn joined the front bench under Neil Kinnock in 1988 when he became a spokesman on health and social security and for social security in 1989. He resigned from the front bench in 1990 and was on the back benches for 26 years after that until his appointment to Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet. He joined the Transport Select Committee in 1990 until after the 1997 General Election when he joined the Welsh Affairs Select Committee for a year. He was a member of the Environmental Audit Select Committee in 2003 until the 2005 general election, since when he has been a member of the Public Administration Select Committee.

On 30 June 2016, Flynn stood in on the party's front bench as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons following Chris Bryant's resignation, prior to a permanent replacement being appointed. Believed to be the oldest person to speak from the front benches since William Gladstone in the 19th century, he joked that his appointment would improve the diversity of a Parliament whose front benches suffered from a "a total absence of octogenerians". On 3 July 2016, Flynn was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Wales. On 6 October 2016, Flynn was replaced as Shadow Wales secretary by Jo Stevens and as Shadow Leader of the House by Valerie Vaz. Flynn said "Our glorious leader, in an act of pioneering diversity, courageously decided to give opportunities for geriatrics on the front bench and this was so successful that he decided to create opportunities for geriatrics on the back bench. I'm double blessed."

Flynn has called for the legalisation of cannabis. Flynn has been Chairman of the Broadcasting Council for Wales, and member of the South Wales Docks Board and the Council of University College, Cardiff.