Dan Jarvis MP
Shadow Minister for Security
Dan graduated from Aberystwyth University with a degree in International Politics and Strategic Studies before attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. From Sandhurst he was commissioned into The Parachute Regiment and subsequently deployed to Kosovo, Northern Ireland, and on multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan.
His service included: Platoon Commander with 1 Para, Aide de Camp to General Sir Mike Jackson, Adjutant 3 Para. On promotion to Major he worked as a staff planner in the Permanent Joint Headquarters and then at the Army’s Headquarters. He served as a Company Commander in the Special Forces Support Group.
In 2011, he became the first person since the Second World War to resign his commission in order to contest a parliamentary by-election. He was subsequently awarded the MBE for his service in the British Army, making him the first serving MP to be decorated for military service in many years.
On entering Parliament, Dan sat on the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee before being made a Shadow Minister for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. In 2013, he was appointed as Shadow Minister for Justice. In 2015, he was made a Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs before returning to the Backbenches and being elected as the first Mayor of South Yorkshire in 2018.
After serving as Mayor for a 4-year term that included unlocking a devolution deal, responding to Covid-19 and severe flooding, Dan was appointed Shadow Security Minister in September 2023.
In his limited spare time, Dan enjoys reading, walking his Springer-Spaniel, fell-running, hill walking and supporting Barnsley FC – all of which can be hard work at times. He has a very long-standing passion for tree planting and the British countryside. He is a patron of the Barnsley Youth Choir and Barnsley Hospice and the author of Long Way Home, which was published in 2020.