stale". It provoked jeers from some Conservative MPs. Michael Fabricant expressed concern about Brennan not wearing a tie and made a point of order to the Speaker, Michael Martin, who agreed with Fabricant. Brennan was forced to leave the chamber to retrieve a tie from his office. After the 2005 general election, he was promoted to Tony Blair's government as an Assistant Government Whip. In June 2007, Blair's successor, Gordon Brown, appointed Brennan as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Young People and Families in the new Department for Children, Schools and Families, replacing Parmjit Dhanda. Brennan was replaced in this role by Lady Morgan following the government reshuffle in October 2008. He was moved to Minister for the Third Sector at the Cabinet Office before being promoted in 2009, becoming the Minister of State for Further Education, Skills, Apprenticeships and Consumer Affairs, with responsibilities in both the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Following the 2010 General Election, he continued this role in a Shadow Ministerial capacity before Ed Miliband's decision to appoint Brennan to the position of Shadow Minister for Schools. In 2010, Brennan became the first MP to win the British Computer Society's (BCS) Social Media MP of the year award, beating Nick Clegg and Jeremy Corbyn, who both finished as runners-up. Brennan was made Shadow Minister for Trade, Investment, and Intellectual Property by Jeremy Corbyn in September 2015, with responsibility for, among others, low carbon business sectors, manufacturing, construction, trade, and intellectual property. He resigned from this position on 28 June 2016, following a motion of no confidence in Corbyn which was passed overwhelmingly by Labour MPs, 172–40, in a vote which was not binding. Brennan supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election. On 12 December 2019, Brennan was re-elected as the Member of Parliament for Cardiff West. Brennan supported Lisa Nandy in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election. Allied Steel and Wire In July 2002, the steel manufacturer Allied Steel and Wire (ASW) entered receivership, and many of their employees were told they would not receive their full company pensions because of a fund shortfall. Brennan, who had many former workers of Allied Steel & Wire as constituents, tabled an early day motion in the Commons in November calling for compensation, and threatened to table an amendment to