About Me
Ian was born in Blyth on 14th February 1966 and was educated at Crofton, Delaval middle and Ridley high school. His family can trace his ancestry back 500 years in the town and spent much of his childhood as a farmhand in South Beach.
Ian had a long career in the NHS as an auxiliary nurse working within mental health. The turning point in his journey to becoming an Member of Parliament began on a walk home from a local restaurant with his wife Maureen. Blyth was once a bustling market town but all Ian saw now was a huge decline and neglect. Maureen told him to stop moaning and do something about it. So he did.
Then in December 2019, Ian was returned as the Member of Parliament for Blyth Valley in the general election. The first Conservative candidate to gain a seat in Blyth Valley in its history.
Since then, Ian has brought in an astonishing investment of £379million into the constituency including securing £140million for the Northumberland Line. The economic benefits of the train line is staggering in reducing congestion and journey times, increasing inward investment into to South East Northumberland, increasing property values, giving easier access to metropolitan areas and new jobs in construction using local people where possible.
Ian is passionate about STEM development in Blyth Valley and is supporting the efforts of bringing a University Technical College to the area. Funding was secured for the new Education Hub at the Port of Blyth and construction has already begun.
Ian also serves as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Rt Hon Grant Shapps the Secretary of State to Defence. In this role Ian supports the Secretary of State, and all of the Defence Ministers with their parliamentary responsibilities, bringing forward important legislation that will support our national defence, veterans and global matters such as the war in Ukraine.
In 2023 the boundary commission announced the creation of two new constituencies. Blyth & Ashington and Cramlington & Killingworth, splitting the current patch of Blyth Valley in two. Ian already represented 9 of the 14 wards in the Cramlington & Killingworth seat so many local people there already know how committed he is to the area. Ian would have loved to carry on representing the same constituents and it was a difficult decision, but, he has now confirmed his position to stand as the conservative candidate for Cramlington & Killingworth.
Ian is committed to seeing the area prosper and attain its full potential and will also continue to champion the whole area, aiming to secure more projects to bring opportunity to the North East.