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
14 Apr 2026 Crime and Policing Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 359 No vote 277–158
14 Apr 2026 Crime and Policing Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 357 No vote 278–73
14 Apr 2026 Crime and Policing Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 342 No vote 281–70
14 Apr 2026 Crime and Policing Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 334 No vote 356–90
14 Apr 2026 Crime and Policing Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 333 No vote 301–157
14 Apr 2026 Crime and Policing Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 311 No vote 300–101
14 Apr 2026 Crime and Policing Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 11 No vote 291–174
14 Apr 2026 Crime and Policing Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 6 No vote 299–169
14 Apr 2026 Crime and Policing Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 2 No vote 307–176
25 Mar 2026 Victims and Courts Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 6 No 290–163
25 Mar 2026 Victims and Courts Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 5 No 292–162
25 Mar 2026 Victims and Courts Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 4 No 300–149
25 Mar 2026 Victims and Courts Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 3 No 286–163
25 Mar 2026 Victims and Courts Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 2 No 295–162
25 Mar 2026 Victims and Courts Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 1 No 291–158
24 Mar 2026 Opposition Day: Defence No vote 98–306
24 Mar 2026 Opposition Day: Oil and gas No vote 108–297
23 Mar 2026 National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 6 No 278–164
23 Mar 2026 National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 5 No 281–167
23 Mar 2026 National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 3 No 280–164
23 Mar 2026 National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 2 No 279–167
23 Mar 2026 National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 1 No vote 280–161
18 Mar 2026 Opposition day: Student loans No vote 88–266
18 Mar 2026 Opposition day: Fuel duty No vote 103–259
18 Mar 2026 Draft Higher Education (Fee Limits and Fee Limit Condition) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 deferred division No 277–99

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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