Ivan Lewis
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Ivan Lewis
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 8 June 2009 |
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| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
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| Preceded by | Bill Rammell |
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| In office 5 October 2008 – 8 June 2009 |
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| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Gillian Merron |
| Succeeded by | TBA |
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| In office 15 May 2006 – 3 October 2008 |
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| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Norman Warner |
| Succeeded by | Phil Hope |
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Member of Parliament
for Bury South |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 May 1997 |
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| Preceded by | David Sumberg |
| Majority | 8,912 (22.8%) |
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| Born | 4 March 1967 Prestwich, Bury |
| Nationality | English |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Juliette Fox |
Ivan Lewis (born 4 March 1967, Prestwich, Bury) is a politician in the United Kingdom. He is the member of Parliament for Bury South, and is a member of the Labour Party. He was first elected in the 1997 general election. Lewis is currently Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
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[edit] Early life
Lewis was educated at the independent William Hulme Grammar School (state controlled since 2007) in Manchester, Strand Sixth Form College (former Stand Grammar School, now closed) and Bury College.
[edit] Member of Parliament
[edit] Political career
Lewis was moved to a junior ministerial position in the Department of Health in the Cabinet reshuffle in May 2006. He previously held junior ministerial posts in the Treasury and the Department for Education and Skills, and was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Stephen Byers when he was Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. On 29 June 2007 in Brown's first reshuffle as Prime Minister he was re-appointed to the post of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department of Health, the only junior minister to survive the reshuffle where he held on to the brief for social care and added mental health services. On 3 October 2008 he was moved to the Department for International Development. He remained there until June 2009, when he was promoted to Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. His has served as Chief Executive of Jewish Social Services in Manchester.
Ivan Lewis also consistently supported plans to close Prestwich Arts College, in his local area, due to falling pupil numbers. The plans have now been dismissed (voted out 3-0 by the School's Organisation Committee).
He was formerly Vice-Chair of Labour Friends of Israel, and is a trustee of the Holocaust Educational Trust. He was a strong supporter of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza in January 2009, defending the Israeli military's campaign in several speeches. Before his election, he was the Chief Executive of Manchester Jewish Social Services.
[edit] Controversy
In 2008, Ivan Lewis was described in the House of Commons as an "arsehole" by Greg Mulholland MP, following Lewis's refusal to allow Mulholland to intervene to correct statements Lewis had made in debate on hospice funding.[1].
In 2009, The Guardian reported[2] that, following a promise to assist British users of the drug "Vioxx" (produced by Merck) with legal fees in their attempt to claim damages, he changed his mind within hours of an "expensive lobbying effort" by Merck. Vioxx has been shown to increase the risk of heart failure in users.
[edit] Personal life
He married Juliette Fox in June 1990 in Stockport and they have two sons. Ivan is a lifelong Manchester City fan.[3]
In 2008, The Department of Health confirmed that Ivan Lewis had made an apology for his behavior when in 2007 he began sending increasingly intimate text messages to then aide Suzie Mason, which ultimately led to her registering concern, and successfully seeking an alternative position within the Civil Service before leaving for the private sector.[4] Nick Cohen pointed out in The Observer on 14 September 2008 that the revelations about Lewis' private life followed articles by Lewis which constituted coded attacks on Gordon Brown.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ "MP defends himself over swearing". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7221750.stm. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
- ^ "The danger of drugs … and data". http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/09/bad-science-medical-journals-companies. Retrieved on 2009-05-24.
- ^ http://www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2001_0276
- ^ http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/article22813.ece
- ^ Nick Cohen "Call off your mafioso aides, Mr Brown", The Observer, 14 September 2008.
[edit] External links
- Prestwich Arts College's Website
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Ivan Lewis MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Ivan Lewis MP
- Constituency web site - Your Labour MP: Ivan Lewis
- BBC Politics
- The Sun Newspaper website
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by David Sumberg |
Member of Parliament for Bury South 1997 – present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by John Healey |
Economic Secretary to the Treasury 2005—2006 |
Succeeded by Ed Balls |
| Preceded by Gillian Merron |
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development 2008 - 2009 |
Succeeded by TBA |
| Preceded by Bill Rammell |
Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 2009 – present |
Incumbent |
