Ian Arthur Cawsey (born 14 April 1960) is a British
Labour Party politician who was the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
Brigg and Goole from
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
until his defeat at the
2010 general election.
Early life and career
He went to Welholme Primary School on Heneage Road, then Wintringham School on Weelsby Avenue in Grimsby. He stood for Great Grimsby Borough Council unsuccessfully in
Wellow ward in 1983, Gilbey ward in 1984 (losing by just 27 votes) and Wintringham ward in 1987. He was later elected a county councillor for the Ashby division in
Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe () is an industrial town and unparished area in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main administrative centre. Scunthorpe had an estimated total population of 82,334 in 2016. A pre ...
on the former
Humberside County Council
Humberside County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Humberside in northern England.
History
Humberside was a non-metropolitan county governed by Humberside County Council and nine non-metropolitan district councils. ...
from 1989 until its abolition in 1996.
He stood in the 1992 election for the seat of
Brigg & Cleethorpes and came second. From 1996 to 1997, he was leader of
North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 167,446 in the 2011 census. The borough includes the towns of Scunthorpe, Brigg, Haxey, Crowle, Epworth, Bottesford, Kirton in Lindsey and Barton ...
Council and was the Chair of the Humberside Police Authority from 1993 to 1997. From 1977 until 1987, he worked in computing for Imperial Foods (now known as
Young's Bluecrest
Young's Seafood Ltd. is a British producer and distributor of frozen, fresh, and chilled seafood, supplying approximately 40% of all the fish eaten in the United Kingdom every year. It is headquartered in Grimsby, England.
The company as it is to ...
) in Grimsby and Seven Seas Health Care (owned by
Merck KGaA
The Merck Group, branded and commonly known as Merck, is a German multinational science and technology company headquartered in Darmstadt, with about 60,000 employees and present in 66 countries. The group includes around 250 companies; the ma ...
) on Hedon Road in Hull.
Family
He married Linda Mary Kirman in July 1987. They have two daughters Hannah, born January 1988 and Lydia, March 1997 also a son, Jacob born May 1993 and reside in Winterton.
Parliamentary career
He was first elected at the
1997 election, and was seen as a strong supporter of
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
and New Labour. He served on the Home Affairs Select Committee, the Universities, Innovation, Science & Skills Select Committee and the Science & Technology Select Committee.
He chaired the Associate Parliamentary group for Animal Welfare and was twice voted by MPs and Peers of all parties as the Dods Charity Champion for Animal Welfare.
He served as
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
(PPS) to
Lord Williams of Mostyn
Gareth Wyn Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn, (5 February 1941 – 20 September 2003), was a Welsh barrister and Labour politician who was Leader of the House of Lords, Lord President of the Council and a member of the Cabinet from 2001 until ...
from 2001 to 2002. He then became PPS to
David Miliband
David Wright Miliband (born 15 July 1965) is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the International Rescue Committee and a former British Labour Party politician. He was the Foreign Secretary from 2007 to 2010 and the Member of P ...
at the
Department for Education and Skills and then the
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
. After the
2005 general election he was made a Government
whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
.
On taking office Gordon Brown appointed Cawsey to be a Vice-Chair of the Labour Party with responsibility for animal welfare.
Personal life
He is a musician and has performed in local bands such as Mandrake, Sneaky Feet, Brix & Chinese Whispers and he sings and plays bass guitar in the rock group
MP4, which is composed of four MPs, Cawsey,
Peter Wishart MP,
Greg Knight
The Right Honourable Sir Gregory Knight (born 4 April 1949) is a British politician, author and musician. He has served as the Conservative MP for East Yorkshire since 2001, having previously served as the MP for Derby North from 1983 to 1997 ...
MP and
Kevin Brennan MP.
He played from 1990 to 1997 in a well known local 60s covers band, The Moggies, the band reformed in 2011 and have established a popular local following once more.
In late 1997 he was treated successfully for cancer.
Since leaving parliament he has worked for the World Society for the Protection of Animals, firstly on their successful UK campaign to stop a large mega-dairy being built in Nocton, Lincolnshire, he was briefly their Chief of Staff running the Office of the Chief Executive before being promoted to be their Director of Policy & External Affairs in 2012.
He is a Winterton Town Councillor and an after dinner speaker. He is the Secretary of the Jerry Green Dog Rescue Trust and a member of the Winterton & District Lions (President 2011–2013).
References
External links
TheyWorkForYou.com – Ian Cawsey MPThe Public Whip – Ian Cawsey MPvoting record
BBC Politics page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cawsey, Ian
1960 births
Living people
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
People from Grimsby
UK MPs 1997–2001
UK MPs 2001–2005
UK MPs 2005–2010
Councillors in the Borough of North Lincolnshire
Members of Humberside County Council