Ian Levy
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Member of Parliament
for Blyth Valley
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byRonnie Campbell
Majority712 (1.7%)
Personal details
Born (1966-02-14) 14 February 1966
Political partyConservative
Websitewww.ianlevy.org.uk

Ian Levy (born 14 February 1966)[1] is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Blyth Valley at the 2019 general election. He is the first Conservative to represent Blyth Valley since the constituency was created in 1950. Ian Levy has served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) in the Ministry of Defence since 2022. Before this Levy was a PPS in the Cabinet Office.

Early life and career

Levy left school at the age of 16 to become a grave digger.[2][3] Prior to his election, Levy had worked as a healthcare assistant on an inpatient mental health rehabilitation ward in St Nicholas Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne for over 28 years.[4]

Parliamentary career

He first contested the Blyth Valley constituency at the 2017 general election, in which incumbent Labour MP Ronnie Campbell held his seat with a majority of 7,915. Levy was subsequently elected for the constituency at the 2019 general election with a majority of 712 votes. He was the first Conservative to represent the constituency since its creation in 1950.[5] It had previously been a safe Labour seat.[6] He had campaigned on returning passenger railway services to the area and for a relief road in Blyth, which is supported by Transport for the North and other major highways improvements.[7][8] Blyth's railway station had closed in 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts.[9] After his election, he was accused of misleading the public, when the Nursing Times reported his social media posts from the campaign, in which he said he had worked as a mental health nurse. The posts were later amended. Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust confirmed he had worked as a healthcare assistant. The term "nurse" is not legally protected so his posts had not violated the Nurses Registration Act 1919.[4][10]

Levy won the Newcomer of the Year award at The Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year Awards.[11]

In October 2020, Levy voted against a Labour motion to extend free school meals for eligible children until Easter 2021. He was criticised for this on social media. Levy also alleged that this included threats.[12][13] In February 2023, a man was given a restraining order for harassing Levy between May and August 2022.[14]

Levy was appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) in the Cabinet Office in April 2022.[15] He supported Boris Johnson's bid to return as PM in the October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.[16] Later in the year, Levy became a PPS in the Ministry of Defence.[17]

Blyth Valley was abolished as part of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. Levy was selected as the Conservative candidate for the new seat of Cramlington and Killingworth in April 2023.[18]

Personal life

Levy is of Jewish descent.[19] He is married and has two children.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  2. ↑ "MP Column: Why I got into politics". News Post Leader. 15 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Ian Levy MP for Blyth Valley" (PDF). Northumberland County Council. p. 1. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  4. 1 2 Snug, Ian; Beadle, Esther (13 December 2019). "Newly-elected MP falsely claims he is a 'mental health nurse". Nursing Notes. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  5. ↑ "Blyth Valley". BBC News. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  6. ↑ "The 24 Labour heartland seats lost to the Tories for the first time in decades". The Telegraph. 14 December 2019.(subscription required)
  7. ↑ "Who is Ian Levy? New Conservative MP for Blyth Valley". Evening Chronicle. 12 December 2019.
  8. ↑ "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  9. ↑ "Blyth Valley: A constituency that changed its mind". 15 December 2019.
  10. ↑ "Shock win Tory candidate 'deceived' voters by claiming to be a nurse". Nursing Times. 13 December 2019.
  11. ↑ "The Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year Awards: The Winners". The Spectator. 22 January 2020.
  12. ↑ Meechan, Simon (25 October 2020). "Ian Levy slammed for defence of vote to deny poor kids free school holiday meals". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  13. ↑ "Blyth Valley MP Ian Levy 'receives violent threats' after school meals vote". BBC News. 28 October 2020.
  14. ↑ "Man given restraining order after harassing MP Ian Levy". BBC News. 11 February 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  15. ↑ "List of Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPS): April 2022". gov.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  16. ↑ Robinson, James (21 October 2022). "Blyth Valley MP Ian Levy backing Boris Johnson as Tory leader". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  17. ↑ "Parliamentary Private Secretaries – November 2022" (PDF). gov.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  18. ↑ Coulson, Andrew (5 April 2023). "Ian Levy selected as Conservative candidate for the proposed Cramlington and Killingworth constituency". Northumberland Gazette. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  19. ↑ Moore, Charles (13 December 2019). "The logic of democracy in this country is iron, as is our rejection of extremism". The Daily Telegraph.(subscription required)

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