Preceded by Kali Mountford Name Jason McCartney Majority 5,378 (9.5%) Role British Politician | Nationality British Residence Honley, United Kingdom Children 2 | |
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Born 29 January 1968 (age 56)
Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire, England ( 1968-01-29 ) Political party Conservative
Liberal Democrat (until 2006) Alma mater Leeds Trinity & All Saints Profiles | ||
Bbc parliament coverage of jason mccartney at prime minister s questions may 25th 2016
Jason Alexander McCartney (born 29 January 1968) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Colne Valley in West Yorkshire from 2010-2017.
Contents
- Bbc parliament coverage of jason mccartney at prime minister s questions may 25th 2016
- Early career
- Member of Parliament
- Personal life
- References
Early career
McCartney was educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School. He went on to serve as an officer in the Royal Air Force for nine years, fulfilling tours in Las Vegas, Turkey and Iraq. After reaching the rank of Flight Lieutenant, he resigned his commission in 1997.
After studying for a postgraduate diploma in broadcast journalism, McCartney worked as a reporter for BBC Radio Leeds, notably interviewing Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam in 1997. From 1998 he worked as a presenter on ITV's Calendar News.
McCartney stood as a Liberal Democrat candidate for the Pudsey ward of Leeds City Council in 2006.
Member of Parliament
He was selected as the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for the Colne Valley in March 2007. He stood in the 2010 general election taking the seat with a majority of 4,837. McCartney gave his maiden speech on 17 June 2010 in a debate on the economy, expressing his support for local rural Post Offices. He was one of the few Conservative members of Parliament who voted against an increase to the cap on University Tuition fees and supported the need for a referendum on the EU. McCartney holds strong views on welfare, and consistently voted to reduce housing benefit, and generally voted against raising welfare benefits in line with prices.
In November 2010, William Hague appointed McCartney to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly UK Delegation.
McCartney served on the Transport Committee between 2013 and 2015
In the run up to the 2015 general election, McCartney took the unusual step of replying to a constituent who disagreed with the Coalition's austerity plan with a letter recommending they backed the Green Party candidate instead. McCartney told the constituent he respected their differences of opinion but the Green Party candidate was "the only candidate who matches what you believe". Labour accused him of trying to split the left wing vote, whilst McCartney said he often put constituents in touch with political rivals if he believed it could help.
McCartney supported Brexit in the 2016 European Union Referendum He voted to reject an amendment to the Brexit bill which demanded an analysis of the impact of exiting the EU on the NHS
Personal life
McCartney lives in Honley, West Yorkshire, and has two children.