Josh MacAlister | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament for Whitehaven and Workington | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Majority | 13,286 (31.7%) |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Labour |
| Website | joshforwestcumbria |
Joshua MacAlister [1] OBE is a British Labour politician who has been Member of Parliament for Whitehaven and Workington since 2024. [2] [3]
MacAlister's father worked as a social worker. [4]
MacAlister studied for,and received,an MA (Hons) in politics and social policy at the University of Edinburgh. MacAlister served as President of the Edinburgh University Students’Association. [5] In 2008,he unsuccessfully contested the Presidency of the National Union of Students Scotland.
MacAlister also studied for,and received,a masters degree in leadership in education at the University of Manchester. [6]
MacAlister trained as a teacher through the Teach First Programme and went on to work as a teacher in Oldham.
During his time as a teacher,MacAlister began to engage with young people with experience of the care system. These experiences led MacAlister to establish Frontline,a graduate social worker training programme modeled on Teach First,in 2013. [4] The first cohort began their training the following year. [6]
In 2019,the Department for Education provided Frontline with £45 million in funding. [7]
In January 2021 MacAlister stepped down from his role at Frontline in order to chair an independent review of children's social care. [7] MacAlister's appointment was criticized by some social work academics who questioned whether he could be impartial given that Frontline had received central government funding. [7]
In June 2021,the review published its interim findings. In October 2021 the review published a second report in response to the feedback received on the interim report. The final report of the review was published in May 2022. [8]
MacAlister was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the King's 2023 New Year's Honours for services to vulnerable children. [9]
In June 2023,MacAlister was selected as the Labour Party's candidate for the newly created constituency of Whitehaven and Workington. [10]
At the 2024 general election,MacAlister was elected as the Member of Parliament for Whitehaven and Workington. MacAlister was elected with 53% of the vote and a majority of over 13,000 votes. [11]
In 2023 MacAlister joined his local mountain rescue team. [12] In July 2024,shortly after being elected as an MP,MacAlister was called out to a mountain rescue. [13]
In 2024,PinkNews listed him as an out LGBTQ+ parliamentarian. [14] He is married to educationalist Matthew Hood. [15]
Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in Cumbria,England. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207.
Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria,England,so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. The mid-2010 census estimates state that Cockermouth has a population of 8,204,increasing to 8,761 at the 2011 Census.
Sir Thomas Anthony Cunningham is a British politician who served as member of parliament (MP) for Workington from 2001 to 2015. A member of the Labour Party,he was Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Cumbria and Lancashire North from 1994 to 1999.
Dale Norman Campbell-Savours,Baron Campbell-Savours is a British Labour Party politician. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Workington from 1979 to 2001,he now sits in the House of Lords.
Workington was a constituency in Cumbria represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.
Copeland was a constituency in Cumbria created in 1983 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The constituency was represented in Parliament by Trudy Harrison,of the Conservative Party,from a by-election in February 2017 until its abolition for the 2024 general election. The seat had been held by Labour candidates at elections between 1983 and 2015 inclusive.
Stephen James McCabe is a British politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1997 to 2024. A member of the Labour Party,he represented Birmingham Hall Green from 1997 to 2010 and Birmingham Selly Oak from 2010 onwards.
Silloth is a port town and civil parish in Cumberland,Cumbria,England. Historically in the county of Cumberland,the town is an example of a Victorian seaside resort in the North of England.
Cleator Moor is a town and civil parish in Cumbria,England,within the historic county of Cumberland. It had a population of 6,936 at the 2011 census.
Arlecdon and Frizington is a civil parish in west Cumbria,England. The parish had a population of 3,678 in the 2001 census,decreasing to 3,607 at the 2011 census.
Thomas Docherty is a British Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dunfermline and West Fife from 2010 until 2015.
Susan Mary Hayman,Baroness Hayman of Ullock is a British politician and life peer who has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party,she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Workington from 2015 to 2019. Hayman served as an Opposition Whip from 2015 to 2016 and Shadow Minister for Flooding and Coastal Communities from 2016 to 2017,then as Shadow Secretary of State for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs from 2017 to 2019 and was appointed to the House of Lords in 2020.
The Cumbria Police,Fire and Crime Commissioner is the police,fire and crime commissioner,an elected official tasked with setting out the way crime is tackled by Cumbria Police in the English ceremonial county of Cumbria. The post was created in November 2012,as Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner following an election held on 15 November 2012,and replaced the Cumbria Police Authority. Richard Rhodes was the first Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner.
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.
Neil Peter Hammerton HudsonFRCVS is a British Conservative Party politician,academic,and veterinary surgeon who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Epping Forest since 2024,and previously for Penrith and The Border from 2019 to 2024. He served on the Environment,Food and Rural Affairs Committee for four years,beginning in 2020. He is the first vet elected to the House of Commons since 1884.
Workington man is a political term that has been used by polling companies in the United Kingdom. Named after the Cumbria town of Workington,the term was first used ahead of the 2019 general election. Workington man describes the stereotypical swing voter who it was believed would determine the election result. Their support of the Conservatives in the 2019 election helped the party break the Labour Party's Red Wall of safe seats.
Cumberland is a unitary authority area in Cumbria,England,which means that it is a non-metropolitan county and district. It borders Scotland,Northumberland,Westmorland and Furness,and the Irish Sea. Part of the area is in the Lake District National Park and notable landmarks include Carlisle Cathedral,Carlisle Castle and Hadrian's Wall.
Whitehaven and Workington is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies,it was contested for the first time at the 2024 general election,since when it has been represented by Josh MacAlister of the Labour Party.
Joshua Fenton-Glynn is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament for Calder Valley since 2024. He gained the seat from the Conservatives.
