He served as the Scottish Labour Party's Parliamentary Business Manager at Holyrood as well as Spokesperson for Community Safety and Drugs Policy.

Kelly grew up in the Halfway area of Cambuslang, and was educated at the co-educational, Roman Catholic Trinity High School, Rutherglen.

[15] While Kelly lost his Holyrood constituency seat to the SNP's Clare Haughey in 2016, he was elected as a list MSP for the Glasgow region.

The equivalent Westminster seat Rutherglen and Hamilton West was won back by Labour's Gerard Killen in the 2017 UK general election, despite being one of the biggest swings towards the SNP two years prior.

[22][23] In October 2018, following a reshuffle of the Scottish Labour frontbench in Holyrood, Kelly continued to hold the finance portfolio while Neil Findlay took forward the constitutional brief.

Following his re-election to the Scottish Parliament in May 2016, Kelly took forward his pledge to lead a member's bill to repeal the Offensive Behaviour at Football 2012 Act.

[25] He described the 2012 legislation as having "completely failed to tackle sectarianism" and as "illiberal" which "unfairly targets football fans", "condemned by legal experts, human rights organisations and equality groups".

[26][27] On 25 January 2018, MSPs voted by 65 to 61 in favour of the general principles of Kelly's Bill in the first stage of Holyrood's legislative process.

In his resignation letter, seen by the Daily Record, James Kelly told Richard Leonard: “I have no confidence in your ability to shape the party's message, strategy and organisation.