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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
4 Feb 2026 Draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2026 deferred division Aye 392–116
3 Feb 2026 Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill: Second Reading Aye 458–104
28 Jan 2026 Opposition Day: Youth unemployment No vote 91–287
28 Jan 2026 Opposition Day: British Indian Ocean Territory No vote 103–284
28 Jan 2026 Draft Medical Devices (Fees Amendment) Regulations 2026 deferred division No vote 294–108
27 Jan 2026 Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill: Amendment 1 No vote 88–310
27 Jan 2026 Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill: Amendment 2 Aye 61–311
27 Jan 2026 Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill: Amendment 9 No 91–378
21 Jan 2026 Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 (Remedial) Order 2025 Aye 373–106
21 Jan 2026 National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill: Third Reading No 316–194
21 Jan 2026 National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill Committee: New Clause 5 Aye 195–317
21 Jan 2026 National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill Committee: Amendment 5 Aye 191–326
20 Jan 2026 Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 6 No 347–184
20 Jan 2026 Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 5 No 347–185
20 Jan 2026 Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 1 No 344–182
20 Jan 2026 Sentencing Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 7 No vote 319–127
14 Jan 2026 Draft Public Order Act 2023 (Interference With Use or Operation of Key National Infrastructure) Regulations 2025 deferred division No 301–110
13 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: New Clause 26 Aye 172–334
13 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: New Clause 9 Aye 181–335
13 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: Clause 86 stand part No 344–173
13 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: New Clause 25 Aye 187–351
13 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: New Clause 24 against party line No 184–331
13 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: Clause 63 Stand part No 348–167
12 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: New Clause 7 Aye 188–341
12 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: Amendment 3 Aye 185–344

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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