UK Explained
MP profile

Ian Lavery, MP for Blyth and Ashington

Ian Lavery has been an MP since 2010.

Roles and committees

Posts held in government or opposition, and committee seats, as Parliament records them.

In opposition

PostWhen
Co-National Campaign Coordinator (Cabinet Office)2017 to 2020
Campaigns and Elections Chair (Cabinet Office)2017
Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office) (Cabinet Office)2016 to 2020
Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office) (Trade Unions and Civil Society) (Cabinet Office)2015 to 2016

Committees

PostWhen
Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee2022 to 2024
Business and Trade Sub-Committee on National Security and Investment2022 to 2024
Energy and Climate Change Committee2015
Draft Deregulation Bill (Joint Committee)2013
Energy and Climate Change Committee2010 to 2015
Northern Ireland Affairs Committee2010 to 2011
Regulatory Reform2010 to 2015

Other posts

PostWhen
Party Chair, Labour Party2017 to 2020

Political Interests

Local regenerationemploymentenergyclimate changepovertyinternationalismsport

Source: UK Parliament Members API · Parliament’s own page

Declared interests

MPs must publish certain paid work, gifts, donations and other interests. This is a record of what they declared, not a suggestion that anything is wrong.

Ian Lavery has 2 interests currently registered.

TypeWhat was registeredRegistered
Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MPQTS Data Centres - £7,276.0017 Mar 2026
Family members employedHilary Lavery employed–

Source: Register of Members’ Financial Interests · Parliament’s own page

Questions

MPs can ask ministers questions in writing. The questions show what an MP is working on, which votes cannot.

Ian Lavery asked 96 written questions in the last 12 months.

Who they asked

Department of Health and Social Care43
Department for Business and Trade12
Treasury7
Department for Work and Pensions7
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology6

Latest questions

10 Jul 2026 · to the Cabinet Office
Answered 16 Jul 2026
9 Jul 2026 · to the Department of Health and Social Care
Answered 16 Jul 2026
5 Jun 2026 · to the Department for Education
Answered 15 Jun 2026
5 Jun 2026 · to the Department for Business and Trade
Answered 15 Jun 2026
5 Jun 2026 · to the Treasury
Answered 15 Jun 2026

Source: Written Questions API · Updated 4 Oct 2026

Expenses

MPs claim back money for running an office and working in two places. An independent body, IPSA, publishes every claim. This is what was paid in 2025-26.

PAID IN 2025-26
£25,643
Office costs · claims for running an office£18,389
Staffing · claims relating to staff£4,240
Accommodation · claims for somewhere to stay£3,014

59 claims. For comparison, across the 657 MPs in IPSA’s file the middle MP was paid £18,469 and the average was £19,699.

Costs depend on many things, such as where an MP’s area is, what premises and staff they need, and whether they joined or left part-way through the year. This page does not say whether any amount is right or wrong. It covers the claims in IPSA’s individual business costs file, so it is not the full cost of an MP’s office.

Source: IPSA, individual business costs data · About this data

Election result and area

Ian Lavery represents Blyth and Ashington. Here is who won there at the last general election, and a few numbers about the area.

WINNER, 2024
Ian Lavery

Labour

MAJORITY
9,173

votes ahead of second place

TURNOUT
53%

of people who could vote did

Ian Lavery won with 50% of the votes, and Mark Peart (Reform UK) came second with 27%.

Votes for each party

Labour50% · 20,030
Reform UK27% · 10,857
Conservative15% · 6,121
Green Party5% · 1,960
Liberal Democrat4% · 1,433
Every candidate
CandidatePartyVotesShare
Ian LaveryLabour20,03049.6%
Mark PeartReform UK10,85726.9%
Maureen LevyConservative6,12115.2%
Steve LeylandGreen Party1,9604.9%
Stephen PsallidasLiberal Democrat1,4333.5%

2024 General Election, on today’s boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library via the Members API.

Your area at a glance

Typical pay for full-time workers who live here
£700 a week
This areaUK: £767 a week

Median gross weekly pay, 2025. Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

Working-age people claiming unemployment-related benefits
3.9%
This areaUK: 3.9%

Share of people aged 16 to 64, August 2026. Source: ONS and DWP claimant count.

At a general election each area elects one MP, and the candidate with the most votes wins, even without more than half. The area figures describe the people who live here. They do not show whether any MP or vote is the cause.

Open this area on its own page →

How they vote

In the last 12 months Ian Lavery took part in 233 Commons votes.

More detail on how they vote

Ian Lavery voted the same way as their party in 228 of the 231 votes where parties gave instructions (99%), and went the other way in 3.

What does this mean?

Parties tell their MPs how to vote. Most MPs usually follow that. A high or low count says nothing on its own about whether an MP is good or bad, and we do not rank MPs by it. We only count votes where parties gave instructions, not free votes. How we count it

Recent votes

DateVoteThey votedCompared with party
11 SepEnd of life for terminally ill adults: the first main voteAgainstFree vote
11 SepA vote to end a debateAgainstFree vote
10 SepSocial housing: an attempt to block itAgainstSame as party
8 SepHealth: a proposed changeAgainstSame as party
8 SepHealth: a proposed changeAgainstSame as party
8 SepHealth: a proposed changeAgainstSame as party

See every vote on Parliament’s site

Times they voted against their party (3)

Has this changed over time?

80%90%100%Oct 25Sep 26
This MPParty average
View data table
MonthThis MPParty average
Oct 25100%100%
Nov 25100%100%
Dec 25100%100%
Jan 26100%100%
Feb 26100%100%
Mar 2696%100%
Apr 2698%100%
May 26100%100%
Jun 26100%100%
Jul 2688%99%
Sep 26100%100%

Source: Commons Votes API

This page states what the record shows. It does not say why an MP voted as they did. How we calculate this