Welcome to my website

Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Redcar since May 2010

In the early hours of Friday May 7th I was declared the first ever Liberal Democrat MP for Redcar. Thanks to all of your help I overturned Labour MP Vera Baird's 12,116 majority with a huge swing of 21.8%. This was England's largest swing and the largest swing between any of the three largest parties at the 2010 general election and I could not have achieved this without all your support.

I came into politics because I genuinely care about the area that my family and I live in. I am dedicated to being a local MP, and working hard to give the area a much needed voice in Parliament.

Redcar 2010 General Election Result in full.

Recent Activity

Richard Moss recently came to catch up with me, its the first time we've really had time to chat since the election. See what he has to say below.

Richard Moss's Blog .

I am always out and about in the constituency, meeting everyone from local businesses to voluntary organisations. If you want to see what I have been up to then you can view my diary.

Interactive map showing where I have been in the constituency

You can also see what I have been up to on my news page

Recent News Stories.

My Diary

I like to keep you all informed of my whereabouts, so if you click on the link below then you will be able to see my weekly diary updates. I also have an interactive map on that page which shows you where I have been. If you scroll right down to the bottom of the page then you will find the latest entry

My weekly diary .

Surgeries

Ian holds surgeries once a fortnight in different places across the constituency; the surgeries are walk in sessions, so therefore it is not necessary to book appointments.

The purpose of the surgeries is that you can come along to meet Ian and discuss your views or ask Ian for help or advice on any problems that you might be having. We do ask that you bring along all relevant information/documentation to help Ian gain a better understanding of each individual case.

Please find the surgery dates on the link below:

Surgery Dates.

Constituency Office

As Ian's constituency office we help Ian with the work he does in and around the constituency.

We are here to help Ian deal with Constituent problems, advice, administration, media and many other aspects that come along with working as an MP.

We have several members of the team, each bringing their own experiences and skills to enable us to support Ian in the most effective way and we are all very happy to do so. Please find below details of each member of our dedicated team:

Becky Selmer- Office Manager

Becky is involved with organising the workload of the office and liaising with the press. Becky was heavily involved in the campaign and has come from a job in welfare bringing useful experience and expertise. Becky also deals with the media strategy and keeps the team running smoothly.

Anne Marie Swales - Administrator

Anne Marie is Ian's daughter-in-law and is a highly experienced administrator who worked closely with Ian during his election campaign, running the office and organising many of the volunteers. Anne Marie was of great help to Ian in setting up the office and keeping things afloat immediately after the election whilst Ian looked for his permanent team (us). Anne-Marie now works part-time 2 days a week in Ian's office dealing primarily with the complex Parliamentary expenses as well as other administrative duties.

Louise Hutchinson - Caseworker

Louise has many roles within the office but primarily she is here to deal with individual casework (Constituents concerns etc) as well as dealing with the press and offering general office support. Ian feels this is a very important part of his and the office's work, helping the people who he was elected to represent.

Chris Abbott - Senior Caseworker and Councillor

Chris deals primarily with the problems of constituents; he has great experience of taking up issues for constituents having been a Councillor in the area since 1985. We rely greatly on his vast expertise here in the office.

Interns

The office takes on interns during different times of the years, Ian believes it is important for people to experience working in politics and learning how the office works, if you would like to apply to become an intern please contact us.....

Parliamentary work

Ian sits on the Public Accounts Committee; this is one of the most powerful committees. The Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine "the accounts showing the appropriation of the sums granted by Parliament to meet the public expenditure and of such other accounts laid before Parliament as the Committee may think fit"

http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-accounts-committee/

Ian also sits on a number of all party parliamnentry groups. These groups include:

• - The All Party Parliamentary Group of the Chemical Industry which he is also the Vice Chair of

• - The all Party Parliamentary Group of Steel of which Ian is the Vice Chair.

Ian chose to be on these groups as he feels the knowledge and contacts he can make by getting involved will help his continuing work within the constituency which is an area with a large industrial sector.

Early Day Motions

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/memi01.htm

Early day motions (EDMs) are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons.

MPs can introduce create EDM's themselves and also add their names to those put forward by other MPs. In practice they are very rarely debated but they are a good measure of support for a particular issue or campaign and can help raise publicity of an issue.

Early Day Motions.

** As long as they are consistent with both Lib Dem and my personal principles I am quite happy to sign motions when constituents, businesses and organisations ask me to do so **

Archive of earlier news stories.

News Story Feed (v1.0).