Calvin Bailey MBE is the Labour Member of Parliament for Leyton and Wanstead, first elected in July 2024.

Born in Zambia and raised in London, he served 24 years in the Royal Air Force, reaching the rank of Wing Commander and received an MBE for distinguished service.

His mixed heritage meant that racism was prevalent in his formative years and he discusses the effect of seeing his Mum confront far-right thugs and the impact of the death of Steven Lawrence.

Despite the racism of his early year, Bailey stands as the embodiment of what hard work and dedication to serving others can achieve, representing his constituency as its first black MP.

Like his Mother, Bailey is unafraid to call out the racism that has become increasingly common in modern day politics.

Bailey sits on the Defence Select Committee and chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Armed Forces community. He is forthright in his belief that the public need to grasp the enormity of the security challenges faced by the country and the requirement for politicians to properly communicate the threat, which in his mind, includes Russia committing acts of “grey zone” warfare on the streets of Britain today.

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