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).

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
21 Apr 2026 English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 98 No vote 287–150
21 Apr 2026 English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 41 No vote 284–149
21 Apr 2026 English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 37 No vote 291–144
21 Apr 2026 English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 36 No vote 288–147
21 Apr 2026 English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 26 No vote 287–149
21 Apr 2026 English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 13 No vote 297–147
21 Apr 2026 English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 4 No vote 298–152
21 Apr 2026 English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 2 No vote 293–155
20 Apr 2026 Crime and Policing Bill: Amendments (a) to (b) in lieu of Lords Amendments 359 and 439 No vote 292–158
20 Apr 2026 Crime and Policing Bill: Amendments (a) and (b) in lieu of Lords Amendment 342 No vote 294–61
20 Apr 2026 Crime and Policing Bill: Amendments (a) to (d) in lieu of Lords Amendment 11 No vote 294–156
20 Apr 2026 Crime and Policing Bill: Amendment (a) to Amendment 2B and Amendment (b) to Amendment 2C in lieu of Lords Amendments 2D and 2E No vote 293–159
15 Apr 2026 Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Amendments (a) to (c) in lieu of Lords Amendment 106 No 248–139
15 Apr 2026 Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Amendments (a) to (e) in lieu of Lords Amendment 102 No 259–136
15 Apr 2026 Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 41B No 254–144
15 Apr 2026 Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Amendments (a) to (f) in lieu of Lords Amendment 38 No 256–150
15 Apr 2026 Pension Schemes Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 78 No 277–150
15 Apr 2026 Pension Schemes Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 77 No vote 271–95
15 Apr 2026 Pension Schemes Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 43 No 273–159
15 Apr 2026 Pension Schemes Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 35 No 275–159
15 Apr 2026 Pension Schemes Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 26 No 269–162
15 Apr 2026 Pension Schemes Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 15 No 276–155
15 Apr 2026 Pensions Scheme Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 5 No vote 269–103
15 Apr 2026 Pension Schemes Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 1 No 278–158
14 Apr 2026 Crime and Policing Bill: motion to agree with all remaining Lords Amendments No vote 247–21

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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