The quiet rise of Damien Egan MP

AS the Labour MP for Bristol North East, Damien Egan’s story began across the sea.

Despite moving from Cork to Bristol as an infant, Ireland left a deep mark on him. “We would go back every summer. I had my grandparents there, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Newmarket, Cork. It always felt very special; in the summer I’d have these lovely holidays with fields, walking, and our local farmer, whom we’d help with the cows, and stuff like that.”

On what led him down his current path, “There was a Conservative government when I was growing up,” he said, “and I joined the Labour Party when I was 15, which just coincided with when Tony Blair became Prime Minister.” For Egan, who experienced periods without a fixed home, politics was a lived experience.

“My family circumstances as well, we had times that were very difficult, and I felt a sense of injustice… that things can be better,” he explained. “At that time with the Labour Party, there was a lot of optimism about making the country better and getting Britain back in a better place.”

A seemingly small event also played a pivotal role in shaping his political life: “The little thing my parents did when I was growing up that did stick with me was that they would always take me with them to vote. I always say that to parents now.”

Egan’s entrance into the political sphere was marked by quiet observation. “I was only 15 when I joined Labour,” he said. “I was a bit nervous going into these meetings, and I didn’t really know what to expect. I think for the first three years I never said a word. I learnt a lot by just listening.”

It was a humble beginning in a political journey that Egan describes as one of “small steps and building up confidence and learning as I’ve gone along.”

Eventually, Egan found his way to local government in southeast London. “I got onto Lewisham Council, and I was eventually given responsibility for the housing side of things,” he says. “The mayor then had just started a new council house building program, and housing was something I was very interested in.”

Eventually, Egan would take over the role of mayor after winning the vote in 2018.

“One of the biggest lessons you learn is how to be nice but also strict,” he reflected. “You really have to be on top of things and make sure things are politically led.”

Egan also wasn’t afraid to aim high: “I would always write a manifesto that was quite bold and pushed things... The advice you’d be given was to make the manifesto more flexible, but I never liked that.” His perseverance paid off. “The council performed well, and we did a lot of improvements around schools, children’s social care, and the housing side of things. We started winning awards for having the best parks in London.”

His six-year tenure as mayor of Lewisham served as a stepping stone for what was to come.

Boundary changes ahead of the general election in 2024 created a new seat: Bristol North East. For Egan, it was more than coincidence. “I’m in Bristol a lot because my family are all in Bristol, even though I was living in London then. And I thought, ‘Wow, this seat is pretty much exactly where I grew up.’”

“I thought I’d always regret it if I don’t at least try,” he said. “You’ve just got to take that jump and put yourself forward.” And he did—twice in one year, first in a by-election and then the general election. “Now I’m a year into the job.”

The shift from local governance to national politics has been a steep learning curve. “Parliament is a completely different world. You’re not in charge anymore; now you’re part of a big team. It’s not like there’s a big training program for you. I’m still learning things now.”

Still, his motivation remains personal: “I want to be able to look back on my time in Parliament... and be able to feel proud that I represented the people from where I grew up and raised their concerns.”

Egan is under no illusions about the scale of the challenges facing Britain. “The economic position that the country was left in has been more of a challenge than people expected,” he said. Although things could be changing: “We’ve had four interest rate cuts in the last year. Getting the economy back in a stable condition.”

He also acknowledges shifting international dynamics: “Comparing Britain and Ireland, when I was growing up, Britain was always wealthier, and that’s changed now. Living standards in Britain have fallen.”

Addressing concerns around immigration, Egan acknowledged the public disquiet over increasing numbers putting strain on services. “People come up to me and talk to me about it, but people haven’t suddenly become racist,” he said. “They just want to have confidence in the system.” He criticised the previous government's handling of immigration as chaotic: “Most people have a very reasonable and pragmatic view… there wasn’t trust in the system.”

Egan backed Keir Starmer’s approach, adding that the party’s challenge is to show “we want a fair system that’s good for the country.” This appears to be working, as the latest figures show that net migration has halved, from nearly a million to around 400,000, in the last year.

Egan also expressed his support for legalising assisted dying, calling it a matter of “choice and individual freedom”. He argued that the current system leaves too many people suffering “excruciatingly awful” deaths unless they have the money to travel to countries where the practice is legal. “We need to have a system that has all the checks and balances in place,” he said.

Turning to international issues, Egan said he would welcome President Donald Trump addressing Parliament. “The role of the US and its relationship with Britain, I think it would be positive,” he stated. “I’d certainly be putting my name down for a ticket.”

On Gaza, Egan, who is married to an Israeli ex-soldier, struck a measured tone: “Everybody wants peace,” he said, acknowledging both Israel’s security concerns and the humanitarian suffering of Palestinians. “The challenge is how do you get to a peaceful situation with an enemy that says it wants the eradication of Israel?”

He pointed to the Northern Ireland peace process as a model, reminding that what once seemed impossible, Martin McGuinness working side by side with Ian Paisley, became reality through “two willing sides and two willing peoples”.

Egan also warned that the impact of AI is being overlooked. “We’ve got potentially millions of jobs that could be redundant because of the use of technology and AI,” he cautioned. While AI could bring “amazing benefits”, especially in health, he urged a deeper public conversation about the future of work. “Perhaps it’s more of a philosophical debate,” he said, “but it needs to be politically and publicly led.”

Damien Egan’s story is not one of meteoric rise but of thoughtful ascent. From the Irish countryside to the heart of British politics.