Ian Stewart (Labour politician)

Ian Stewart (born 28 August 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Eccles from 1997 until 2010, when his seat was abolished and he was subsequently defeated in the selection process to be the Labour Parliamentary Candidate for the new parliamentary constituency of Salford and Eccles by Hazel Blears.[1][2]

Ian Stewart
Mayor of Salford
In office
7 May 2012 – 8 May 2016
Preceded byOffice Created
Succeeded byPaul Dennett
Member of Parliament
for Eccles
In office
1 May 1997 – 12 April 2010
Preceded byJoan Lestor
Succeeded byConstituency Abolished
Personal details
Born (1950-08-28) 28 August 1950
Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
SpouseMerilyn Holding
Alma materManchester Metropolitan University

Standing as the Labour candidate for the new elected post of Mayor of Salford, he was elected as Mayor in the 2012 Salford mayoral election.[3]

Early life

Stewart attended Calder Street Junior Secondary School (now Auchinraith Primary School) in Blantyre and Alfred Turner Secondary Modern in Irlam. From 1966 to 1969, he studied at Stretford Technical College. He later attended Manchester Metropolitan University, where he carried out research towards a M.Phil in Management of Change. Stewart worked as a chemical plant operator from 1973 to 1978 before becoming the North West Regional Officer of the Transport and General Workers Union.

MP for Eccles

Stewart was first elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Eccles in 1997. He was a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Football Team.

Mayor of Salford

Upon his election as Mayor of Salford in 2012, Stewart appointed one deputy and 13 assistant mayors, including one in charge of 'humanegement', a nonsense word invented by Stewart to refer to human resources.[4]

In 2013, Stewart urged the government to rethink spending cuts claiming thousands of residents will be pushed further into poverty, saying: "Salford has been forced to cut almost £100 million from council services since 2010. We have tried to increase our income in a number of ways, but it is an uphill battle. Without this funding I fear for the many families who are being asked to contribute more, whilst they have suffered a loss in benefits income."[5]

In October 2013, Stewart launched the 'City Plan' which set the priories of Salford City Council over the following three years. Stewart said: “It is my firm hope that the City Plan will help to guide Salford through austerity and the £75 million in government cuts to council services which we face over the next three years."[6]

Stewart welcomed the convictions and praised the work of Salford City Council trading standards officers after a sex slave was discovered in an Eccles cellar. Stewart said: “We believe this girl was brought into the country illegally in 2000 and fell into the clutches of these evil men when she was just 10 years old."[7]

Stewart stepped down before the 2016 mayoral election.[8]

Personal life

He married Merilyn Holding in 1968. They have two sons and a daughter.

References
  1. "Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP » About Salford & Eccles". Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  2. "UKPollingReport Election Guide 2010 » Abolished seats". Ukpollingreport.co.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  3. "Ianstewart4salford.com". Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  4. "New Salford mayor appoints 13 assistants (including a spokesman for 'humanegement')". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  5. "Salford City Mayor urges government to rethink funding cut". MG. 17 October 2013. Archived from the original on 13 October 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  6. "Ian Stewart Sets out Plan to beat Tough Times in Salford". MG. 4 October 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  7. "Salford Mayor Welcomes Convictions". MG. 17 October 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  8. "Salford mayor Ian Stewart will not seek second term of office". Manchester Evening News. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
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