Ian Swales

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ian Swales
MP
Member of Parliament
for Redcar
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by Vera Baird
Majority 5,214 (12.4%)
Personal details
Born (1953-04-05) 5 April 1953
Leeds, Yorkshire, England[1]
Nationality British
Political party Liberal Democrats
Spouse(s) Pat Swales
Children 3
Alma mater UMIST
Website

Ian Cameron Swales[2] (born 5 April 1953[3]) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He is the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Redcar in England from May 2010. Swales took Redcar from Labour incumbent Vera Baird for the Liberal Democrats in 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 also the biggest gain by any Liberal Democrat.[5][6]

Early life

Swales was born in Leeds and grew up in Harrogate where he was educated at Ashville College, Harrogate[7] Following a Chemical Engineering degree at Manchester University, 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 ICI and settled in Redcar.

Political career

Swales joined the SDP when it was founded in 1981 and was a member of the first Cleveland County Committee for the SDP.[citation needed] He contested the 2005 general election in the Redcar Constituency and moved the Liberal Democrats from third to second place with a positive swing against both Labour and the Conservative parties.

In 2010 he achieved the biggest swing against Labour in the entire country in winning the Redcar seat. He made his maiden speech in Parliament on 7 June 2010[8]

Swales is the Chair for the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Chemical Industry[9] and Vice-Chair for those relating to Steel and Energy Intensive Industries. Swales is also an active member of the Public Accounts Committee, which sits twice a week and scrutinises all public expenditure.

He has sat on the Welfare Reform and Finance Bill Committees, and has campaigned against business tax avoidance.[10] He is also a Liberal Democrat party whip.

Personal life

In his spare time Swales helps local organisations and campaigns on local issues.[citation needed] He was active in Redcar Swimming Club and since the closure of the pool has campaigned for a new one. He has been on the Committee of Coatham Memorial Hall for many years.[11]

Ian and Pat have three children and four grandchildren, two boys and two girls. One of their sons lives in Slovakia. Swales' interests include travel, reading, cooking, walking and genealogy.[citation needed]

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Search Results
  3. ↑ Northern Echo, Ian Swales
  4. ↑ Redcar
  5. ↑ Cable comforts Lib Dem faithful (From The Northern Echo)
  6. ↑ Labour's former law chief Vera Baird tries to dodge drive ban | Mail Online
  7. ↑ polling report | Ashville College
  8. ↑ Maiden Speech in Parliament]
  9. ↑ APPG Chemical Industry]
  10. ↑ BBC report on Corporate tax avoidance]
  11. ↑ http://www.parliamentaryrecord.com/content/profiles/mp/Ian-Swales/Redcar/1354

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Vera Baird		 Member of Parliament for Redcar
2010–present 		Incumbent
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.