Ian Colin Lucas (born 18 September 1960) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wrexham, Wales from

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. He was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Business and Regulatory Reform in the

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created by the Gordon Brown premiership on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Uni ...

from 2009 until Labour's defeat at the 2010 General Election. He did not stand at the 2019 election.

Early life

He was born and brought up in a

council house A council house, corporation house or council flat is a form of British Public housing in the United Kingdom, public housing built by Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing ...

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

, the second son of Colin and Alice Lucas. His father worked as a process engineer in a local factory, apart from serving in the army from 1942 to 1947 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He attended Greenwell Junior High School on ''Beacon Lough Road '' in Gateshead then Newcastle Royal Grammar School, and won a place at New College,

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, to study

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

gaining a BA in 1982. He qualified from the College of Law in 1983 and was admitted as a solicitor in 1985. He supports Sunderland A.F.C. in football.

Professional career

He became a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

practising in London from 1983–6, but moved to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

in 1986, specialising in criminal and personal injury law for Percy Hughes and Roberts in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

until 1987. He worked for Lees Moore and Price in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

until 1989. He then worked for Roberts Moore Nicholas Jones until 1992 in Wrexham. In 1992, he moved the short distance to Oswestry in

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

working for Dr Crawford, and formed his own practice, Crawford Lucas in 1997. The move was precipitated because of disagreements with his old firm when he had organised protests against cuts in legal aid. He was a partner in Stevens Lucas from 2000–1. After the death of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

in 1997, Ian Lucas represented Trevor Rees-Jones (Diana's bodyguard, and survivor of the crash) in a legal battle with Mohamed Fayed.

Political career

In 1986 he joined the Labour Party, and became chairman of the

branch. He was on Gresford Community Council in Wrexham from 1987 to 1991. He contested the traditionally

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

seat of

North Shropshire North Shropshire was a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Shropshire, England from 1974 to 2009. The district council was based at Edinburgh House in Wem. Other settlements included the towns of Ellesmere, Shropshire, Elles ...

in the 1997 general election, but was narrowly defeated. He has served as a

school governor In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, school governors are the overseers of a school. In state schools, they have three main functions: *Giving the school a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction *Holding the headteacher to account for th ...

, and on a local hospital board. He was later selected to stand for the UK Parliament in

, and won the seat in

. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Bill Rammell MP,

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education. He resigned as PPS on 6 September 2006, due to the refusal by

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

to name a date for stepping down as Prime Minister. Fellow Welsh Labour MPs Wayne David and

Mark Tami Sir Mark Richard Tami (born 3 October 1962) is a Welsh Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Alyn and Deeside since 2001. He has served as Deputy Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons since 2024. Earl ...

resigned on the same day. Lucas was promoted by

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

in the reshuffle of October 2008, to the role of assistant government whip. He then entered Government as a minister for the first time in the June 2009 reshuffle, becoming Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Business and Regulatory Reform in the

, and held that post until the Labour government left office in May 2010. He was the shadow minister for the Middle East and Africa. He has served as a member of the Environmental Audit Select Committee and the Transport Select Committee. He has taken an interest in sustainable energy, devolution of powers in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and links with

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He is a member of both the Labour Friends of Israel and the Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East. Despite his constituency voting to leave the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

in the 2016 referendum, Lucas supported a second referendum on the UK's EU membership. He would support remaining in the European Union in the event of such a vote. He supported

Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a British lobbyist and former Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician. Smith was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd (UK Parliament constituency), Pontypridd from 2 ...

in the failed attempt to replace

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

in the 2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election. Lucas did not stand for re-election at the 2019 general election.

Parliamentary debate about the murder of Nicolas Churton

On the 11 April 2019, in a House of Commons adjournment debate he accused North Wales police, the probation service, the community rehabilitation company, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct of hiding mistakes about incidents that led to the murder of Nicolas Churton. He further alleged that Mark Polin, the Chief Constable for North Wales Police had misled him over it.

References

External links

Ian Lucas MP
''official constituency website''
Ian Lucas MP
Welsh Labour Party profile * * ;News articles
BBC apologises in August 2008

Welsh dragon on the Union flag in November 2007

Richard Brunstrom in November 2006

Leaving government in September 2006

Digital TV in June 2006

Death by negligent driving in January 2005

School merger in May 2002

Citizenship in February 2002
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Ian 1960 births Living people People from Gateshead Politicians from Tyne and Wear People from Wrexham Politics of Wrexham People educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne Alumni of New College, Oxford British solicitors Alumni of the University of Law Welsh Labour MPs Labour Friends of Israel Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019