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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
12 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: Clause 62 stand part No 344–181
12 Jan 2026 Finance (No.2) Bill Committee: Clause 10 stand part No 324–180
12 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: New Clause 12 Aye 167–350
7 Jan 2026 Opposition Day: Rural communities No vote 105–332
7 Jan 2026 Opposition Day: Jury trials Aye 182–290
17 Dec 2025 National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill: Second Reading No 312–165
16 Dec 2025 Finance (No. 2) Bill: Second Reading No 341–195
16 Dec 2025 Finance (No. 2) Bill: Reasoned Amendment to Second Reading (Opposition) No vote 118–340
15 Dec 2025 Employment Rights Bill: Government motion to disagree with the Lords in their Amendment 120N to Commons Amendment 120G and their Amendments 120P to 120S to Commons Amendment 120H No vote 311–96
10 Dec 2025 Opposition day: Conduct of the Chancellor of the Exchequer No vote 90–297
10 Dec 2025 Government Amendment to Opposition day debate on seasonal work No vote 320–98
10 Dec 2025 Opposition day: Seasonal work No vote 98–325
9 Dec 2025 Railways Bill: Second Reading No 329–173
9 Dec 2025 Railways Bill: Opposition Reasoned Amendment Aye 170–332
9 Dec 2025 UK-EU customs union (duty to negotiate): Ten Minute Rule Motion Aye 100–100
8 Dec 2025 Employment Rights Bill: Government motion to insist on disagreement to LA62 but not to insist on Commons Amendment 62C and to propose Gov (a) in lieu of LA62 No 327–162
8 Dec 2025 Employment Rights Bill: Government motion not to insist on Commons Amendment 72C but to disagree with LA72D to LA72H and to propose Gov (a) and (b) in lieu of LA72D to LA72H No 326–162
8 Dec 2025 Employment Rights Bill: Government motion to insist on disagreement to Lords Amendment 48B but to propose Government amendment (a) and (b) in lieu of LA48B Aye 395–98
8 Dec 2025 Employment Rights Bill: Government motion to insist on disagreement to LA23 and LA106 to LA120, not to insist on Commons Amendment 120C, 120D and 120E but to propose Gov (a) to (f) in lieu of LA23 and LA106 to LA120 No vote 300–96
8 Dec 2025 Employment Rights Bill: Government motion to insist on disagreement to Lords Amendment 1B but to propose Government amendments (a) and (b) in lieu of Lords Amendment 1B No vote 327–96
3 Dec 2025 Pension Schemes Bill: Amendment 15 Aye 154–303
3 Dec 2025 Pension Schemes Bill: Amendment 16 Aye 143–304
3 Dec 2025 Pension Schemes Bill: New Clause 26 Aye 77–298
3 Dec 2025 Pension Schemes Bill: New Clause 3 Aye 87–299
2 Dec 2025 Budget Resolution No. 64: Rates of alcohol duty No 357–174

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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