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Official portrait of James MacCleary

James MacCleary

Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, since 4 July 2024

Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Defence)

James MacCleary is the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, and has been an MP continually since 4 July 2024. He currently undertakes the role of Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Defence).

Contact them on the parliamentary site →

Scorecard

61.0% Attendance Below the median of MPs who vote
351 Votes cast out of 575 divisions
224 No vote recorded absent, abstaining, paired or unable to attend
1 Against their own party divisions where they voted the other way to most Liberal Democrat MPs
7 Interests declared none at £5,000 or more
126 Debates spoken in 565 written questions tabled

Ranked 495 of 638 MPs for attendance. The median of MPs who vote is 72.3%. Ministers and front-benchers vote less often than backbenchers for reasons of office rather than absenteeism, and Parliament does not publish reasons for any absence — the ranking is a starting point for a question, not an answer to one.

Voting record

575 divisions since they took their seat, newest first.

DateQuestionTheir voteResult
15 Jul 2026 Draft Code of Practice on Electronic and Workplace Ballots for Statutory Trade Union Ballots deferred division No vote 330–109
15 Jul 2026 Draft Trade Unions (Permissible Means of Voting) and Employment Rights (Unfair Dismissal) (Amendment) Order 2026 deferred division No vote 330–109
14 Jul 2026 Public Office (Accountability) Bill Report Stage: Amendment 19 No 104–412
14 Jul 2026 Public Office (Accountability) Bill Report Stage: Amendment 199 No 102–409
14 Jul 2026 Public Office (Accountability) Bill Report Stage: Amendment 3 Aye 93–323
13 Jul 2026 Immigration and Asylum Bill: Second Reading No 264–90
13 Jul 2026 Immigration and Asylum Bill: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading No 97–358
8 Jul 2026 Draft Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026 deferred division No 283–182
8 Jul 2026 Draft Supply of Machinery (Safety) (Amendment etc.) and the EU Machinery Regulation (Enforcement etc. in Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026 deferred division No vote 317–103
8 Jul 2026 Draft Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (Establishment of Schools) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026 deferred division Aye 369–102
7 Jul 2026 Opposition Day: Early release of prisoners No vote 115–0
6 Jul 2026 National Security (State Threats) Bill: motion to agree to Lords Amendment 1 Aye 394–85
1 Jul 2026 Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 5 Aye 177–308
1 Jul 2026 Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 4 Aye 173–282
1 Jul 2026 Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 2 Aye 80–281
1 Jul 2026 Draft Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) (Amendment) Order 2026 deferred division No vote 318–107
1 Jul 2026 Draft Employment Tribunal (Extension of Time Limits) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026 deferred division No vote 322–107
24 Jun 2026 Draft Climate Change Act 2008 (Credit Limit) Order 2026 No vote 330–93
24 Jun 2026 Draft Climate Change Act 2008 (International Aviation and International Shipping) Regulations 2026 No vote 329–94
24 Jun 2026 Draft Carbon Budget Order 2026 No vote 332–94
24 Jun 2026 Customs (Tariff and Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 4) Regulations 2026 deferred division No vote 323–160
23 Jun 2026 Opposition Day: Puberty blockers No vote 112–283
23 Jun 2026 Opposition Day Motion: Defence spending and readiness - Prime Minister's Amendment No vote 294–110
23 Jun 2026 Opposition day: Defence spending and readiness No vote 108–307
22 Jun 2026 Armed Forces Bill Report Stage: Amendment 11 No vote 171–322

Declared financial interests

Quoted in full from the Register of Members' Financial Interests. Entries where the largest figure is £5,000 or more are marked. A declaration is not a wrongdoing — the register exists precisely so that these things are visible.

1. Employment and earnings

Role, work or services: Councillor
Until: 7 May 2026.
Payer: East Sussex County Council, County Hall, Lewes BN7 1UE
(Registered 1 August 2024; updated 20 September 2025 and 19 May 2026)

On the register since 3 Jun 2026

Remuneration: £719.50 a month
Until: 7 May 2026.
Hours: 30 hrs a month Estimated depending on meetings and casework
(Registered 1 August 2024; updated 20 September 2025 and 19 May 2026)

On the register since 3 Jun 2026

Role, work or services: District Councillor
Until: 7 May 2026.
Payer: Lewes District Council, 6 High Street, Lewes, BN7 2AD
(Registered 1 August 2024; updated 5 May 2026 and 19 May 2026)

On the register since 3 Jun 2026

Remuneration: £416.83 a month
From: 2 May 2023. Until: 7 May 2026.
Hours: 20 hrs a month Hours worked is an estimate
(Registered 1 August 2024; updated 5 May 2026)

On the register since 19 May 2026

3. Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources

Name of donor: National Liberal Club Ltd
Address of donor: 1 Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2HE
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: Honorary membership until the end of 2025, as a new Liberal Democrat MP, value £1,578.50
Date received: 2 September 2024 to 31 December 2025
Date accepted: 2 September 2024
Donor status: company, registration 01355034
(Registered 13 October 2024)

On the register since 9 Feb 2026

4. Visits outside the UK

Name of donor: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
Address of donor: 63 Eccleston Square, London SW1V 1PH
Estimate of the probable value (or amount of any donation): Flights, accommodation and transfers, value £889.45
Destination of visit: Italy
Dates of visit: 24 October 2025 to 26 October 2025
Purpose of visit: To attend the Economic and Finance Conference by invitation
(Registered 16 December 2025)

On the register since 6 Jan 2026

8. Miscellaneous

Director of Newhaven Fishing Community Interest Company. This is an unpaid role.
Date interest arose: 1 September 2024
(Registered 3 October 2024)

On the register since 9 Feb 2026

The same register on parliament.uk →

Debates

126 debates contributed to in total. The ten most recent:

Sources: Commons Votes API, Members API and the Register of Members' Financial Interests, all published by Parliament under the Open Parliament Licence. This member's register and debate record were last refreshed 3 Aug 2026. How every figure is worked out →

Machine-readable: JSON for this MP.

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