Ian Cameron Swales[2] (born 5 April 1953)[3] is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Redcar in England. He is the only person ever to gain a North East Region Commons seat for the Liberal Democrats. Swales took Redcar from Labour incumbent Vera Baird for the Liberal Democrats at the 2010 general election, with a 21.8% swing.[4] Swales added over 10,000 votes to his 2005 general election total. This was the biggest swing against any Labour candidate in the election and was also biggest majority overcome by any Liberal Democrat, until the 2022 Tiverton and Honiton by-election.[5] He stood down at the 2015 general election.[6]
Ian Swales | |
|---|---|
 Swales in 2011 | |
| Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills | |
| In office 28 January 2015 – 11 May 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Tessa Munt |
| Succeeded by | John Glen |
| Member of Parliament for Redcar | |
| In office 6 May 2010 – 30 March 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Vera Baird |
| Succeeded by | Anna Turley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 April 1953 Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England[1] |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats |
| Spouse | Pat Swales |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | UMIST |
Early life
editIan Swales is the son of Harry Swales and Elizabeth Adamson Doig. His Scottish mother was a first cousin of Peter Doig, Labour MP for Dundee West from 1963 to 1979. Swales was born in Leeds and grew up in Harrogate; his mother died when he was eight years old. Educated at Woodlands Junior School, he became Head Boy and then won a County Council funded scholarship to Ashville College, Harrogate.[7] Following a chemical engineering degree at University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, where he met his wife, Pat, a Durham miner's daughter, he joined Yorkshire Electricity and qualified as an accountant in 1977. He moved to Teesside in 1978 to join large chemical company ICI and settled in Redcar.[citation needed] From 1983 to 1986, he worked for ICI in Brussels.
Political career
editSwales joined the SDP when it was founded in 1981, and was a member of the first SDP Cleveland County Committee.[citation needed] He contested the 2005 general election in the Redcar Constituency and moved the Liberal Democrats (the successor party to the SDP) from third to second place with a positive swing against both the Labour and Conservative parties.
In 2010, Swales achieved a 21.8% swing against Labour in winning the Redcar seat. He made his maiden speech in Parliament on 7 June 2010.[8] For his role in helping to get Redcar steel works restarted Swales was Total Politics MP of the month for April 2011 and Dods constituency MP of the year finalist for 2011. During his time in Parliament, Swales was an active member of many All Party Parliamentary Groups including Chair of the APPG for the Chemical Industry [9] and Vice-Chair of the APPGs for Steel and Energy Intensive Industries. In May 2014, Swales was appointed to the taskforce group for electrification of rail in the north by the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, MP.
Shortly after the 2010 election, Swales became an active member of the Public Accounts Committee, which sits twice a week and scrutinises all public expenditure. In June 2014, Swales resigned from the Committee, citing frontbench commitments. He also sat on the Welfare Reform and Finance Bill Committees, and campaigned against tax avoidance.[10] After his prominent role on the Public Accounts Committee, Swales was promoted to Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesman. He rebelled against the Conservative/Liberal Democrat government on university tuition fee increases, welfare issues including the "bedroom tax" and in August 2013 the proposal to take military action in Syria.[citation needed]
In July 2014, Swales announced that he was standing down as an MP at the 2015 general election, for "personal reasons".[6] In January 2015, he was made Parliamentary Private Secretary to Vince Cable, who at the time was Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
In October 2021, after the murder of David Amess, Swales revealed that he stood down because of a 2014 incident in which two men entered his constituency office claiming to know where he lived and threatening to kill him.[11]
After Parliament
editFollowing his retirement from Parliament, Swales continued to participate in local industry issues. He advised the management of Redcar steel works and in August 2015 joined the Board, becoming Chair, of the Northeast of England Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC), the body that represents companies in the chemical, pharmaceutical, polymer, renewable energy and materials, steel and biotechnology process industries in North-East England.[12] In 2016 he received an Honorary Fellowship from the Institute of Chemical Engineers (FIChemE) for his contributions to the chemical industry.[citation needed]
Swales was the founding Chair of mental health charity The Link Tees Valley Ltd. and remained as a Director until 2023.[citation needed] He is Chair of the grant giving charity the Woodsmith Foundation and a Director of Redcar Racecourse Limited [13]
Personal life
editIn his spare time, Swales helps local organisations and campaigns on local issues.[citation needed] He was active in Redcar Swimming Club and after the closure of the old pool campaigned for a new one. Swales was on the Committee of Coatham Memorial Hall for many years.[14]
Swales is a humanist, and in 2015 was made an honorary life member of Humanists UK for his work in Parliament. He and his wife Pat have three children and seven grandchildren. His interests include travel, cooking, playing bridge, walking and genealogy.[14]
References
edit- ^ "Local Escorts London That's What the App is Perfect". Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
- ^ Search Results
- ^ Northern Echo, Ian Swales[dead link]
- ^ "Election 2010: Redcar". BBC News. May 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ Merrick, Robert (23 September 2010). "Cable comforts Lib Dem faithful". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ a b "Ian Swales is standing down for 'personal reasons'". BBC News. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ polling report | Ashville College
- ^ [1] Maiden Speech in Parliament]
- ^ [2] APPG Chemical Industry]
- ^ "Corporate tax avoidance debate". BBC Democracy Live. 8 January 2013.
- ^ "Former Teesside MP Ian Swales stepped down due to death threat". ITV News. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
- ^ Gibson, Robert (11 August 2015). "Former MP Ian Swales takes over as chairman of industry cluster NEPIC". GazetteLive. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
- ^ Companies House confirmation |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/_5DPH-7p5mR54amaqKauWAB5JTk/appointments
- ^ a b "Ian Swales". Parliamentary Record. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2014.