| Honorific Prefix: | Councillor |
| James MacCleary | |
| Parliament: | United Kingdom |
| Constituency Mp: | Lewes |
| Term Start: | 4 July 2024 |
| Predecessor: | Maria Caulfield |
| Majority: | 12,624 (23.8%) |
| Birth Name: | James Neville MacCleary |
| Party: | Liberal Democrats |
James Neville MacCleary is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewes since 2024. He defeated the Conservative incumbent, Maria Caulfield, with a majority of almost 13,000. MacCleary has served as a member of East Sussex County Council since 2021, and Lewes District Council from 2007 to 2015 and since 2019.
MacCleary graduated from the University of Kent with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in politics and international relations, and the University of Oxford with a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Russian and East European studies. He has worked as a director and manager for charities and campaigning organisations, and ran a business providing advice and training in communications and data protection.[1] [2]
MacCleary was a member of Lewes District Council for the ward of Bridge from 2007 to 2015, and has represented the ward of Newhaven South since 2019.[3] He is the Liberal Democrat group leader and served as leader of the council from 20 July 2020 to 15 July 2021,[4] [5] and subsequently from 18 July 2022 to 22 May 2023.[6] [7] He alternated the role annually with Zoe Nicholson of the Green Party under the Co-operative Alliance.[8] [9]
In the 2021 council election, MacCleary was elected to East Sussex County Council for the division of Newhaven and Bishopstone.[10] [11] He was previously a member of Lewes Town Council from 2011 to 2015 and Newhaven Town Council from 2019 to 2023.
MacCleary stood in the constituency of Lewes at the 2024 general election. He defeated Maria Caulfield, the incumbent Conservative MP and a government minister, with a majority of 12,624 votes. Lewes was formerly represented for the Liberal Democrats by Norman Baker from 1997 to 2015.[12] [13]