Ian Mearns | |
---|---|
Chair of the Backbench Business Committee | |
In office 18 June 2015 –30 May 2024 | |
Preceded by | Natascha Engel |
Succeeded by | Bob Blackman |
Member of Parliament for Gateshead | |
In office 6 May 2010 –30 May 2024 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | [1] [2] Newcastle upon Tyne,England | 21 April 1957
Political party | Labour |
Other political affiliations | Socialist Campaign Group |
Website | Official website |
James Ian Mearns [3] (born 21 April 1957) is a British Labour Party politician. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gateshead from 2010 to 2024. [4] [5] He was a member of and latterly Chair of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus.[ not verified in body ]
Born in the General Hospital Newcastle upon Tyne to a Second World War veteran, [6] Mearns was raised a Roman Catholic and was educated at St Mary's RC Primary School (Forest Hall) and having passed the 11 plus exam,at St Mary's RC Technical school (Newcastle). He grew up supporting Newcastle United F.C.,and has been a fan of the club for over 50 years. He also helped run and Chaired the Gateshead FC Supporters club in the 1990s. [7]
In the 1980s Mearns was a member and Northern Regional Chair of the Labour Party Young Socialists,and a supporter of the Militant Tendency. He ceased being a supporter of the group before becoming a Gateshead Councillor in 1983,serving as a Councillor for the Saltwell ward until 2010. During this period he chaired Gateshead Council's Education Committee and in the Council Cabinet before becoming Deputy Leader of the Council in 2002 carrying on in that role until 2010. He was variously a representative of Gateshead Council on the AMA (Association of Metropolitan Authorities and the LGA (Local Government Association) He was an active supporter of and subsequently Chair of the Campaign for a North East Assembly.
Mearns was elected to Parliament in 2010 with a majority of 12,549,in a Gateshead seat created by boundary changes. Along with fellow North Eastern MPs elected in 2010,Ian Lavery and Grahame Morris,Mearns is perceived to be on the left-wing of the Labour party. [8] He was one of 16 signatories of an open letter to Ed Miliband in January 2015 calling on the party to commit to oppose further austerity,take rail franchises back into public ownership and strengthen collective bargaining arrangements. [9]
Mearns served on the Education Select Committee continuously from 2010 until his retirement and was the lead Labour member on that committee for several years. He also joined the Backbench Business Committee in the 2010–2015 Parliament and chaired the Committee from June 2015 until the dissolution in May 2024. [10] He was a member of the bill committee for HS2,which he has criticised for treating residents of the north east and other regions not served by the line as "lesser citizens". [11]
In March 2013,Mearns resigned as PPS to Ivan Lewis to defy the Labour whip and vote against the Jobseekers (Back to Work Schemes) Bill which retroactively changed DWP rules relating to Workfare in the United Kingdom. [12]
On 19 June 2015,he was elected as the Chairman of the Backbench Business Select Committee. [13]
On 24 February 2022,following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,Mearns was one of 11 Labour MPs threatened with losing the party whip after they signed a statement by the Stop the War Coalition which questioned the legitimacy of NATO and accused the military alliance of "eastward expansion". All 11 MPs subsequently removed their signatures. [14] He was also named on a list of Parliamentarians sanctioned by the Russian government,which he regarded as a badge of honour.
He was elected to chair the RMT Parliamentary Group from 2015 to 2024 and also the BFAWU Parliamentary Group from 2015 to 2024. He was also co Chair of the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs until 2024. He helped establish and Chaired the All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) For Housing in the North and another for Football Fans. He also Chaired APPGs for Rail in the North,for Foster Care workers and for Parental Involvement in children’s education. Mearns was honoured to receive the RMT’s Gold medal for services to the union at their conference in Hull in June 2024. In December 2023,Mearns informed his constituency party that he would step down at the 2024 general election,after 41 years of service as an elected representative. [15]
The 1922 Committee,formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee,or sometimes simply the 22,is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party in the British House of Commons. The committee,consisting of all Conservative backbench Members of Parliament (MPs),meets weekly while Parliament is in session and provides a way for backbenchers to co-ordinate and discuss their views independently of frontbenchers. Its executive membership and officers are by consensus limited to backbench MPs;however,since 2010,frontbench Conservative MPs have an open invitation to attend meetings.
Nicholas Hugh Brown,known as Nick Brown,is a British former politician and trade unionist who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne East between 1983 and 2024. He represented the Labour Party until his resignation in 2023. Brown is the longest-serving Chief Whip of the Labour Party,discontinuously holding the position several times between 1997 and 2021 under Blair,Brown,Miliband,Corbyn and Starmer.
Laurence Anthony Robertson is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tewkesbury from 1997 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party,he chaired the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee for seven years,from 2010 to 2017.
Dame Diana Ruth Johnson is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull North since the 2005 general election. A member of the Labour Party,she has served as Minister of State for Policing,Fire and Crime Prevention since July 2024.
Robert John Blackman MP is a British politician who has been the chairman of the 1922 Committee and chair of the Backbench Business Committee since 2024. A member of the Conservative Party,he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Harrow East since 2010. He served as the Joint Executive Secretary of the backbench 1922 Committee from 2012 to 2024. Blackman was the Member of the London Assembly (MLA) for Brent and Harrow between 2004 and 2008.
David John Barrington Burrowes is a British politician. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate from 2005 to 2017,is the co-founder of the Conservative Christian Fellowship. He has been the Chairman of the Equity Release Council since 2017
Sharon Hodgson is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Washington and Gateshead South since 2024,and previously for Washington and Sunderland West and Gateshead East and Washington West from 2005. A member of the Labour Party,she has chaired the Finance Committee since 2023.
Jeff Smith is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Manchester Withington since 2015,Lord Commissioner of the Treasury since 2024.
Paul Christopher Blomfield is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Central from 2010 to 2024. A member of the Labour Party,he was a Shadow Minister for Exiting the European Union from 2016 to 2020 and Shadow Minister for Brexit and European Union Negotiations from 2020 to 2021.
Ian Lavery is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Blyth and Ashington from 2024. He was previously the MP for Wansbeck from 2010 to 2024. Lavery served as the chair of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn from 2017 to 2020,and was the president of the National Union of Mineworkers from 2002 to 2010. He is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus.
Bridget Maeve Phillipson is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party,she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Houghton and Sunderland South since 2010.
Julie Elliott is a British Labour Party politician,who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunderland Central from 2010 to 2024. Elliott served as Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change from October 2013 to September 2015,with specific responsibility for renewable energy,the Green Investment Bank,and skills and supply chain issues. She has also served as chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Rugby Union and vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality for Women. Elliott was re-elected for the Labour Party in Sunderland Central at the 2019 general election with a majority of 2,964.
Stephen James Metcalfe HonFIET is a Conservative Party politician,who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Basildon and East Thurrock from 2010 to 2024. He sat on the Science,Innovation and Technology Select Committee and served as chair.
Stephen Anthony McPartland is a former British Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Stevenage from 2010 to 2024. He is the author of the McPartland Review into Cyber Security as an enabler of Economic Growth,is a strategic consultant and non-executive specialist in risk,governance,cyber security and digital sustainability.
Paul Maynard is a British politician who served from 2010 until 2024 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackpool North and Cleveleys. A member of the Conservative Party,he has served Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions since November 2023. He previously as served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice in 2019 and for Transport from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2019 to 2020.
Gareth Alan Johnson is a British politician and former lawyer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dartford from 2010 to 2024. A member of the Conservative party,he served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts from September to October 2022 in the Truss ministry. Johnson previously served as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from February to September 2022 and Assistant Government Whip from 2018 to 2019 and 2021 to 2022.
Martin David Whitfield is a Scottish Labour politician and former lawyer and primary school teacher who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region and the Convener of the Standards and Procedures and Public Appointments Committee since 2021.
Mark Ian Jenkinson is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the abolished seat of Workington from 2019 to the 2024 general election. In the 2024 United Kingdom general election,he contested Penrith and Solway but was defeated by Labour candidate Markus Campbell-Savours.
David Timothy Simmonds is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ruislip,Northwood and Pinner from 2019. Simmonds was formerly a councillor on Hillingdon London Borough Council,having served from 1998 to 2022. He has been Shadow Minister for Housing,Communities and Local Government since July 2024.
Paula Barker is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Wavertree since 2019. She served as the Shadow Minister for Devolution and the English Regions from September 2023 to November 2023.