Michael Lee Amesbury (born 7 May 1969) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Runcorn and Helsby, previously Weaver Vale, since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, he has been suspended pending a police investigation since October 2024 and has subsequently been charged with common assault.
Mike Amesbury | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament for Runcorn and Helsby Weaver Vale (2017–2024) | |
| Assumed office 8 June 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Graham Evans |
| Majority | 14,696 (34.8%) |
| Member of Manchester City Council for Fallowfield | |
| In office 4 May 2006 – 26 June 2017 | |
| Preceded by | John-Paul Wilkins |
| Succeeded by | Ali Ilyas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Lee Amesbury 7 May 1969 Wythenshawe, Manchester, England |
| Political party | Labour (suspended) |
| Alma mater | Ilkley College (BA) University of Central England (PGDip) |
| Occupation |
|
| Website | Official website |
Born in Manchester and raised in West Yorkshire, Amesbury began working as a careers adviser and later became a Labour Party officer. He has been a political adviser to Greater Manchester politicians including Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham.
Amesbury served as a Member of Manchester City Council from 2006 to 2017 and an Executive Member from 2008 to 2012. He held several shadow ministerial portfolios in Parliament between 2018 and 2024, including Employment, Housing, and Local Government.
Early life and education
editMichael Lee Amesbury was born on 7 May 1969 in Wythenshawe, Manchester.[1] He moved to Castleford in West Yorkshire at a young age, where he was educated at Castleford High School. He joined the Labour Party in the late 1980s, having been politicised by the miners' strikes.[2]
Amesbury studied at Ilkley College, where he was awarded Bachelor of Arts degree in Community Studies from Bradford University in 1993. He was president of the Ilkley College students' union from 1993 to 1994, and founded its Labour Party society. In 1996, he received a Postgraduate Diploma in Careers Guidance from the University of Central England in Birmingham.[3]
Early career
editAmesbury worked as a careers advisor in Birmingham after receiving his postgraduate degree.[2] He became an officer for the North West Labour Party from 1999 until 2003, when returned to careers advice as a manager at Connexions.
He returned to North West Labour as an events and fundraising manager in 2013, having previously worked as a project manager at The Manchester College. He was a policy adviser at Tameside Council from 2014 until 2015, when he became an adviser to Tameside Member of Parliament (MP) Angela Rayner. He worked for Andy Burnham from 2016 to 2017, supporting his work as an MP and later his Greater Manchester mayoral campaign.
Amesbury was first elected to Manchester City Council in 2006, defeating the incumbent Liberal Democrat councillor in Fallowfield.[4] He served as the Council's Executive Member for Culture and Leisure from 2008 to 2012.[5] He was a member of Labour's National Policy Forum from 2010 to 2015. He resigned as a councillor following his election to Parliament in 2017.[6]
Parliamentary career
editFirst term (2017–2019)
editAmesbury was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Weaver Vale at the 2017 general election.[7] He defeated the incumbent Conservative MP, Graham Evans, with 51.5% of the vote.
Amesbury has described his politics as "left of centre" and "pragmatic Labour".[2] He supports electoral reform such as proportional representation, and voted to remain in the 2016 EU membership referendum.[8]
From 2017 to 2018, Amesbury was a member of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee. He was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Debbie Abrahams, in January 2018. He was promoted to become Shadow Employment Minister in July 2018.
In 2019, Amesbury apologised 'unreservedly' for having shared an antisemitic caricature on Facebook in 2013.[9] He claimed that he didn't recall sharing the post but was 'mortified' and wouldn't have done so intentionally.
Second term (2019–2024)
editAt the 2019 general election, he was re-elected to represent Weaver Vale with a reduced majority of 562 votes over the Conservative candidate.
In February 2020, Amesbury introduced a private member's bill to reduce the cost of school uniforms; the bill was passed as the Education (Guidance about Costs of School Uniforms) Act 2021.[10]
He was appointed Shadow Housing and Planning Minister in April 2020,[11] which was reduced to Housing in May 2021.[12] Amesbury became Shadow Local Government Minister in November 2021, but resigned in June 2022 to focus on his constituency work.[13] He served on the Transport Committee from 2022 until 2023, when he rejoined the front bench as Shadow Building Safety and Homelessness Minister in September.[14]
In July 2023, a 56-year-old man was convicted of stalking and harassing Amesbury; the offences took place from June to August 2022, and his sentence included a restraining order.[15][16]
Third term (2024–present)
editAmesbury was elected to represent Runcorn and Helsby at the 2024 general election with a majority of almost 15,000.[17] Weaver Vale had been abolished following boundary changes and replaced by his new constituency.[18]
Following his election, Amesbury returned to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee and joined the Modernisation Committee.
At about 2:15 am on 26 October 2024, Amesbury was filmed in Frodsham confronting a man who was lying on the ground.[19] Amesbury shouted: "You won't threaten the MP ever again, will you?" Cheshire Police stated that an assault had been reported and that no arrests had been made.[20] Prior footage was subsequently released of Amesbury punching the man to the ground, and of his directing more punches as the man lay prone.[21]
Pending an investigation into the incident, the Labour Party administratively suspended Amesbury's party membership and parliamentary whip.[22][21] Witnesses later said that the man had initially engaged Amesbury in a conversation about a local bridge which would be closed during winter, before the men's interactions became "heated".[19][23] On 7 November 2024, Amesbury was charged with common assault and summoned to appear in court.[24][25][26]
Personal life
editAmesbury is married and has a son.[27]
He suffered from depression in the late 2000s, which resulted in behaviour of "self-destruction" and almost ended his marriage.[28]
Amesbury is a supporter of Manchester United F.C.[2]
References
edit- ^ "No. 61961". The London Gazette. 19 June 2017. p. 11780.
- ^ a b c d "Interview with Mike Amesbury MP". TalkPolitics. 7 October 2017. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
- ^ "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.)
- ^ "Election results – Local elections 2006 | Manchester City Council". www.manchester.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ "Mather & Co scores with National Football Museum contract". Manchester Evening News. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ Amesbury, Mike (7 July 2017). "The Register of Members' Financial Interests". UK Parliament.
- ^ "Election results 2017: Labour gains Weaver Vale, Warrington South and Crewe and Nantwich". BBC News. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ McDougall, John (12 November 2019). "Here's the Labour candidate's policies for Weaver Vale". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Murphy, Scott (30 April 2021). "Northwich MP explains the purpose of his school uniform bill". Northwich Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "Mike Amesbury given shadow ministerial role by new Labour leader". Northwich Guardian. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ Rodgers, Sienna (14 May 2021). "Reshuffle: Keir Starmer's new Labour frontbench in full". LabourList. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ^ "Mike Amesbury MP resigns from shadow minister role". BBC News. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ Gayne, Daniel (24 June 2024). "Who's who in Labour's would-be cabinet". Intelligence for Architects. Building Design. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ^ "MP Mike Amesbury's stalker handed a restraining order". BBC News. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ^ "Stalker harassed Mike Amesbury MP in shopping centre and Costa Coffee". BBC News. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ^ "Runcorn and Helsby Results – General Election 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "UK Parliament election results: Notional election for the constituency of Runcorn and Helsby on 12 December 2019". UK Parliament election results. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ a b Kampfner, Constance (28 October 2024). "Man punched by Mike Amesbury in argument about bridge is named". The Times. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ Jahangir, Rumeana; Farley, Harry (26 October 2024). "MP row is matter for police, says Phillipson". BBC News. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ^ a b Whannel, Kate; Farley, Harry (27 October 2024). "Labour suspends MP after CCTV appears to show him punching man". BBC News. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ^ Haslam, Ben; Thorp, Liam (27 October 2024). "Labour suspends Runcorn MP Mike Amesbury over punch video". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ^ "Starmer: MP Mike Amesbury CCTV footage 'shocking". BBC News. 28 October 2024.
- ^ "MP Mike Amesbury charged with street assault". BBC News. 7 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
- ^ Rawlinson, Kevin; Mason, Rowena (7 November 2024). "Suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury charged with assault". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
- ^ "MP Mike Amesbury charged with common assault after incident in Cheshire street". Sky News. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
- ^ "Cockapoo named Corbyn tops Westminster dog vote". BBC News. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ^ Amesbury, Mike (21 October 2014). "Manchester councillor: My secret battle with depression". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 30 October 2024.