Mike Amesbury
MP
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament
for Weaver Vale
Assumed office
8 June 2017
Preceded byGraham Evans
Majority562 (1.1%)
Shadow portfolios
2023–presentBuilding Safety and Homelessness
2021–2022Local Government
2020–2021Housing
2018–2020Employment
Member of Manchester City Council
for Fallowfield
In office
4 May 2006 – June 2017
Preceded byJohn-Paul Wilkins
Succeeded byAli Ilyas
Personal details
Born
Michael Lee Amesbury

(1969-05-07) 7 May 1969
Wythenshawe, Manchester, England
Political partyLabour
Alma materBradford University
University of Central England
Websitemikeamesbury.org

Michael Lee Amesbury (born 7 May 1969) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Weaver Vale since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, he has served as Shadow Minister for Building Safety and Homelessness since 2023.[1] He previously served as Shadow Minister for Employment from 2018 to 2020, Shadow Minister for Housing from 2020 to 2021 and Shadow Minister for Local Government from 2021 to 2022.

Education

Amesbury was born on 7 May 1969 in Wythenshawe, Cheshire.[2][3][4] He was educated at Ilkley College and the University of Central England.[5]

Career

A careers advisor by trade, Amesbury previously worked as a manager with the Connexions careers advice service. He also worked as Senior Parliamentary Advisor to Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner and as political advisor and stakeholder manager on Andy Burnham's successful campaign to become Mayor of Greater Manchester.[6] He was a director of City South Manchester Housing Trust, an award-winning social enterprise providing affordable housing in the Fallowfield, Hulme, Moss Side and Whalley Range areas of south Manchester. He also served as a policy advisor to Tameside Council.

Political career

Amesbury joined the Labour Party as a 17-year-old after moving with his family to Yorkshire, where he says he was politicised by the impact on local families of Margaret Thatcher's political policies and the subsequent miners' strike.[4]

He served as a Regional Officer and Fundraising and Events Manager for Labour and was later elected to the party's National Policy Forum (NPF)—the policy making arm of The Labour Party.

Amesbury was elected to Manchester City Council representing Fallowfield Ward in 2006,[7] defeating the incumbent Liberal Democrat, and subsequently winning re-election in 2010 and 2014.[8][9] Rising to the position of Executive Member for Culture and Leisure from 2008 to 2012, he helped bring the National Football Museum to the city.[10] He stood down following his election to the House of Commons, triggering a by-election in his ward in July 2017.[11]

Amesbury gained the Weaver Vale constituency from the Conservative incumbent Graham Evans in the 2017 general election on a swing of 4.3%.[12] He was named Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Shadow Department for Work and Pensions team in January 2018, and in July of the same year was promoted to Shadow Employment Minister.[13][14]

He is a member of the UNISON and GMB trade unions. He campaigned for 'remain' in the 2016 EU membership referendum.[15]

In 2019, Amesbury apologised for having shared an antisemitic caricature on Facebook in 2013, stating “I apologise unreservedly for this terrible error. I genuinely don’t recall sharing this image and I’m mortified that I did so. This appalling image image contains an antisemitic caricature and a reference to the ‘illuminati’ conspiracy theory. I would never have intentionally shared antisemitic tropes and I am sincerely sorry that I did.”[16]

Amesbury was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Housing and Planning in the April 2020 reshuffle following Keir Starmer's election as Labour leader.[17] In the subsequent May 2021 reshuffle, his brief was reduced to the Shadow Minister for Housing, with Ruth Cadbury receiving the planning portfolio.[18]

In March 2020, Amesbury put forward a Private member's bill on education for a second reading. The Bill is seeking to reduce the cost of school uniforms.[19] In April 2021, the bill became law after it made it through final reading in the House of Lords and received Royal assent the following day.[20]

In 2020, Amesbury became one of four vice-chairs of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Whistleblowing which has been subject to criticism by some campaigners on whistleblowing law reform.[21][22]

Personal life

Amesbury is married and has a son.[4] He is a Manchester United fan and his interests include rugby league and indie music.[23]

References

  1. ↑ "Meet our Shadow Cabinet". The Labour Party. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  2. ↑ "No. 61961". The London Gazette. 19 June 2017. p. 11780.
  3. ↑ "Mike Amesbury MP". myparliament.info. MyParliament. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Interview with Mike Amesbury MP". TalkPolitics. 7 October 2017. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  5. ↑ "Amesbury, Mike". Who's Who. Vol. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 14 February 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  6. ↑ "The Mayor | the Mayor of Greater Manchester | GMCA". Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  7. ↑ "Election results - Local elections 2006 | Manchester City Council". www.manchester.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  8. ↑ "Election results - Local elections 2010 | Manchester City Council". www.manchester.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  9. ↑ "Election results - Local elections 2014 | Manchester City Council". www.manchester.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  10. ↑ "Mather & Co scores with National Football Museum contract". Manchester Evening News. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  11. ↑ "Fallowfield By Election 27 July 2017 | Fallowfield By Election 27 July 2017 | Manchester City Council". secure.manchester.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  12. ↑ BBC News: Election results 2017: Labour gains Weaver Vale, Warrington South and Crewe and Nantwich Archived 2018-10-08 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 9 June 2017)
  13. ↑ "Mike Amesbury promoted to Labour's Shadow team". Northwich Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  14. ↑ "Appointments to Labour's frontbench – The Labour Party". The Labour Party. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  15. ↑ McDougall, John (12 November 2019). "Here's the Labour candidate's policies for Weaver Vale". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  16. ↑ Sugarman, Daniel (13 March 2019). "Labour Shadow Minister Mike Amesbury apologises for sharing 'antisemitic caricature' – after denying he had". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  17. ↑ "Mike Amesbury given shadow ministerial role by new Labour leader". Northwich Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  18. ↑ Rodgers, Sienna. "Reshuffle: Keir Starmer's new Labour frontbench in full". LabourList. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  19. ↑ "Education (Guidance about Costs of School Uniforms) Bill - Friday 13 March 2020 - Hansard - UK Parliament". hansard.parliament.uk.
  20. ↑ Murphy, Scott (30 April 2021). "Northwich MP explains the purpose of his school uniform bill". Northwich Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  21. ↑ "Meet the team". APPG Whistleblowing. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  22. ↑ "Home". The Whistler. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  23. ↑ "Interviewing Mike Amesbury MP". TalkPolitics. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
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