Ian McCartney

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The Rt Hon Ian McCartney
Ian McCartney
In office
May 5, 2006 – 29 June 2007
Prime Minister Tony Blair
Preceded by Ian Pearson
Succeeded by Lord Jones of Birmingham
In office
4 April 2003 – May 5, 2006
Prime Minister Tony Blair
Preceded by John Reid
Succeeded by Hazel Blears
Member of Parliament
for Makerfield
Incumbent
Assumed office 
11 June 1987
Preceded by Michael McGuire
Majority 17,750 (50.9%)
Born 25 April 1951 (1951-04-25) (age 57)
Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire
Nationality British
Political party Labour
Website www.ianmccartney.com

Ian McCartney (born 25 April 1951) is a British Labour politician. He is the current member of Parliament for Makerfield.

Contents

[edit] Early Life

He was born in Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire, the son of Labour MP Hugh McCartney and trade unionist Margaret. He was the leader of a paper-boys' strike at the age of fifteen, and had a number of jobs after leaving school including working as a seaman and a local Government manual worker. He was a councillor for Wigan Borough 1982-1987.

[edit] Parliamentary Career

Ian McCartney became the MP for Makerfield following the 1987 general election. He was one of the founders of the All-Party Parliamentary Rugby League Group the same year, and was its first chairman.

McCartney held a number of positions in during Labour's period in Opposition, and was variously a spokesperson on Health, Employment, Education and Social Services. In 1994 he ran John Prescott's successful campaign to become Deputy Leader.

McCartney is one of the shortest MPs, at just five feet and one inch tall. He describes himself on his parliamentary notepaper as the 'Socialist MP for Makerfield.'

[edit] Ministerial Career

McCartney was made Minister of State at the Department of Trade and Industry following the 1997 general election when Labour came to power. While at the DTI he introduced a major package of new employment rights which including the first ever right to paid holidays, whistleblowing protection and the National Minimum Wage, and steered the Competition Act through Parliament. During this time he was also responsible for employment relations, the Post Office, Company Law and inward investment.

In 1999 he was moved to Minister of State at the Cabinet Office where he was responsible for modernising Government and E-Government. In 2001 he became Minister of State for Pensions at the Department for Work and Pensions, and he was promoted to Cabinet as Minister Without Portfolio and Party Chair in April 2003.

From October 2004 to October 2005, he was Chairman of the Labour Party in two capacities - as the Party Chair (appointed by the party's leader) with a seat in the Cabinet, and as the Chair of the National Executive Committee (elected by the members of the NEC). He was also chair of the party's National Policy Forum, which formulates Labour Party policy. The NPF also oversaw the 'Big Conversation' project, which saw the Labour Government try to consult the general public on the future direction of party and government policy.

Trusted by both leadership and membership, he was seen as a key link between the Government and the wider Labour movement. He has worked to make the role of Party Chair a voice for Labour Party members within the Labour Government. Architect of the Warwick Agreement by Labour's National Policy Forum, he was a key figure in co-ordinating the election manifesto for Labour's third term General Election campaign.

In 2006 he took a leave of absence following heart surgery, and publicly told of his fight to lose weight for the sake of his health. His return to frontline politics was marked by his speech to the Labour Party 2006 Spring Conference in Blackpool in which he shed a tear while celebrating 100 years of the Parliamentary Labour Party. He returned to government as Minister of State for Trade in May 2006, attending Cabinet but not voting at it, but stepped down in 2007 when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister.

McCartney currently earns £115,000 from a role with the Texas based nuclear power company Fluor Corp to "provide advice in anticorruption and business ethics policies, regulatory issues and outside relations including trade unions." This has led McCartney to be accused of being part of the "cash for access" culture, given his former ministerial position.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cash-for-access row as former Labour minister Ian McCartney entertains nuclear boss in Commons

[edit] External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Michael McGuire		 Member of Parliament for Makerfield
1987 – present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
John Reid		 Minister without Portfolio
(Labour Party Chair)
2003–2006		 Succeeded by
Hazel Blears
Preceded by
Mary Turner		 Chair of the Labour Party
2004–2005		 Succeeded by
Jeremy Beecham
Preceded by
Ian Pearson		 Minister of State for Trade
2006-2007		 Succeeded by
Lord Jones of Birmingham
Languages