Ian Lavery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ian Lavery
|
|
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2024
|
|
| Chair of the Labour Party | |
| In office 14 June 2017 – 5 April 2020 |
|
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Tom Watson |
| Succeeded by | Angela Rayner |
| Labour Party Co-National Campaign Coordinator | |
| In office 10 February 2017 – 5 April 2020 Serving with Andrew Gwynne
|
|
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Jon Trickett |
| Succeeded by | Angela Rayner |
| Shadow Minister without Portfolio | |
| In office 9 February 2017 – 5 April 2020 |
|
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Andrew Gwynne |
| Succeeded by | Conor McGinn (2021) |
| Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office | |
| In office 7 October 2016 – 9 February 2017 |
|
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Tom Watson |
| Succeeded by | Jon Trickett |
| Shadow Minister for Trade Unions and Civil Society | |
| In office 18 September 2015 – 7 October 2016 |
|
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Lisa Nandy (Civil Society) |
| Succeeded by | Steve Reed (Civil Society) |
| Member of Parliament for Blyth and Ashington Wansbeck (2010–2024) |
|
| Assumed office 6 May 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Denis Murphy |
| Majority | 9,173 (22.7%) |
| President of the National Union of Mineworkers | |
| In office 2002–2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Arthur Scargill |
| Succeeded by | Nicky Wilson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 January 1963 Ashington, Northumberland, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Other political affiliations |
Socialist Campaign Group |
| Spouse |
Hilary Baird
(m. 1986) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | New College Durham |
Ian Lavery (born 6 January 1963) is a British Labour Party politician. He has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Blyth and Ashington since 2024. Before that, he was the MP for Wansbeck from 2010 to 2024.
Lavery served as the Chair of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn from 2017 to 2020. He was also the president of the National Union of Mineworkers from 2002 to 2010. He is part of the Socialist Campaign Group, which is a group of Labour MPs with similar political views.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Ian Lavery was born on 6 January 1963 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. His parents were John Robert Lavery and Patricia. After finishing East School, Ian joined a program called a Youth Training Scheme. He then worked in construction for a short time.
Starting Work in Mining
In January 1980, Ian Lavery started working at the Lynemouth coal mine. This happened after the National Coal Board encouraged more people to join the mining industry. In July 1980, he began an apprenticeship to learn mining skills. He moved to Ellington Colliery in 1981. During this time, he studied at New College Durham and earned a special certificate in mining engineering.
Early Political Career
In 1986, Ian Lavery was chosen to be on the committee for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) at Ellington Colliery. He became the secretary for workers' pay and benefits. Later, he was elected to the Northumberland Executive Committee, and then to the North East Area Executive Committee of the NUM.
After serving as the first cabinet chair of Wansbeck District Council, Lavery became the general secretary for the Northumberland area of the NUM. In 1992, he ran for the national executive committee of the NUM. He won this election in the first round, getting more than half of the votes. When Arthur Scargill stepped down as NUM president in August 2002, Ian Lavery was elected to take his place without anyone running against him.
Parliamentary Career
First Term as MP (2010–2015)
In February 2010, Ian Lavery became the Labour Party's chosen candidate for the Wansbeck area. He was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) on 6 May 2010. He won with a majority of 7,031 votes.
He was appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to Harriet Harman, who was then the Labour Party's deputy leader. However, he resigned from this role in 2012. He disagreed with his party by trying to change a rule about the pension age for prison staff and psychiatric workers. He wanted them to be exempt from a general increase in the pension age to 68.
Second Term as MP (2015–2017)
On 8 May 2015, Ian Lavery was re-elected as the MP for Wansbeck. He won with an even larger majority of 10,881 votes. After Ed Miliband resigned as the leader of the Labour Party, some thought Lavery might run for the leadership. He decided not to and instead supported Andy Burnham. Jeremy Corbyn eventually won that leadership election. In September 2015, Corbyn appointed Lavery as a 'shadow minister' for trade unions and civil society. A shadow minister is a member of the opposition party who speaks for their party on a specific topic.
When Jeremy Corbyn's leadership was challenged in 2016, Lavery continued to support him.
In 2016, there were reports about money Ian Lavery had received from the NUM, the union he used to lead. A review was done by the Trades Union Certification Officer. In 2017, this review found that there were no clear documents explaining how or why some of these payments were decided. Because of this, no further investigation took place.
In February 2017, Lavery was appointed as Labour's national campaign co-ordinator. He shared this role with Andrew Gwynne.
Third and Fourth Terms as MP (2017–2024)
In the 2017 general election, Lavery was re-elected again. His share of the votes increased to 57.3%, but his majority decreased slightly to 10,435. In June 2017, he was appointed to the important role of Chair of the Labour Party.
In December 2018, Lavery spoke in Parliament about the high insurance costs for people living near the River Wansbeck. This was after floods in 2015–16 had caused damage. In the same month, he disagreed with Jeremy Corbyn's idea to support a second public vote on Brexit. He believed that if Labour supported another vote on leaving the European Union, the party would lose the next general election.
At the 2019 general election, Lavery was re-elected once more. However, his vote share went down to 42.3%, and his majority was much smaller, at 814 votes.
In January 2021, Lavery made comments about the COVID-19 vaccine. He later said his words had been misunderstood.
On 24 February 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, Lavery was one of 11 Labour MPs who signed a statement from the Stop the War Coalition. This statement raised concerns about NATO. All 11 MPs removed their signatures after being told they might be suspended from the party.
2024 to Present
In the 2024 United Kingdom general election, Ian Lavery was elected as the MP for the new constituency of Blyth and Ashington. This was the second Labour seat confirmed in that election.
Personal Life
Ian Lavery married Hilary Baird in 1986 when he was 23 years old. Their wedding took place at the Holy Sepulchre Church in Ashington. They have two sons: Ian Junior, born in 1988, and Liam, born in 1993. Liam is a town councillor for the college ward of Ashington and has been involved in the Labour Party since he was a teenager.
Lavery is involved with several community groups. He is a trustee for CISWO in the North East, the Northumberland Aged Mineworkers' Homes Association, Woodhorn Colliery Museum, and Buzz Learning Disability. He also supports Headway for South East Northumberland and the Wansbeck Disability Forum. He is the chair and a trustee of the Pitmen Painters. This group became famous after a play about them, called The Pitmen Painters, was shown in London's West End. The play tells the story of the Ashington Group, an art group from Northumberland.
