Ivan Lewis: new Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary

Ivan Lewis has succeeded Vernon Coaker as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Lewis has been MP for Bury South, in Manchester, since 1997. He was previously Chief Executive of the Contact Community Care Group and the Manchester Jewish Federation.

Lewis’ first ministerial brief was skills and vocational education in the Department for Education and Skills (2001-2005). He then held junior posts in the Treasury (2005-2006), Department of Health (2006-2008), Department for International Development (2008-2009) and Foreign Office (2009-2010).

The latter brief included the Middle East peace process and he oversaw the setting up of a specific unit on releasing Libyan information on the country’s involvement in the Troubles.

Lewis was then Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary and Shadow International Development Secretary. He has been credited with raising the profile of social care in government and proposing the One Nation Labour concept in opposition.

He spoke in the 1999 Queen’s Speech debate just after returning from a parliamentary visit to Belfast and Dublin. Lewis commented: “I can tell honourable members, journalists and newspaper editors that we do not owe it to any particular political leader or to any particular tradition in Northern Ireland, but we owe it to the children of Northern Ireland to ensure that we achieve that lasting peace.”

Separately, Andrew Robathan has moved from the Ministry of Defence to succeed Mike Penning as Minister of State in the Northern Ireland Office. Robathan is the Conservative MP for South Leicestershire and had a military career before entering politics.