Liam Byrne



Liam Dominic Byrne MP (born 2 October 1970) has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham, Hodge Hill since 2004.

He served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury in Gordon Brown's Government and is known for leaving a note for his Conservative successor upon his departure saying "I'm afraid there is no money."

Parliamentary career
He was selected to contest the Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election following the resignation of the veteran Labour MP Terry Davis to become the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. After a very close contest, on 15 July 2004, the same day as Labour lost Leicester South in another by-election, Byrne held on with a majority of just 460.

Following his re-election with an increased majority on 5 May 2005, he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health, an unusually fast promotion to ministerial rank. He was re-elected at the May 2010 general election.

All-Party Parliamentary Groups
Byrne is the chair of two APPGs: the APPG on Inclusive Growth and the APPG on Children of Alcoholics. The APPG on Inclusive Growth was formed in July 2014 with the aim of finding a new consensus on inclusive growth to ensure the benefits of growth are enjoyed by all sectors of society.

Following the 2006 local elections he was promoted to Minister of State for policing, security and community safety at the Home Office, replacing Hazel Blears, one of the highest-profile roles in the government outside the cabinet. However, just a fortnight later Home Secretary John Reid moved him to the immigration role, switching portfolios with Tony McNulty.

In a cabinet reshuffle on 3 October 2008 he was promoted, becoming Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Departure from the Treasury
On leaving his position as Chief Secretary to the Treasury following the change of British government in May 2010, Byrne left a note to his successor David Laws saying "Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid there is no money. Kind regards – and good luck! Liam." Byrne later claimed that it was just typical humour between politicians, but regretted it since the new government used it to justify the wave of cuts that were introduced.