Andy MacNae | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament forRossendale and Darwen | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Jake Berry |
| Majority | 5,628 (12.6%) |
| Member ofRossendale Borough Council for Greensclough | |
| In office 5 May 2011 – 7 May 2015 | |
| Member ofRossendale Borough Council for Irwell Hareholme (2016–2021) Stacksteads (2021–2023) | |
| In office 5 May 2016 – 2 May 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Andrew Clive Mitchell MacNae (1965-04-29)29 April 1965 (age 59) |
| Political party | Labour |
| Residence(s) | Rossendale,Lancashire, England |
| Education | Sir John Deane's College[1] |
| Alma mater | University College London[2] University of Leeds[3] Alliance Manchester Business School (MBA)[4] |
| Website | www.andymacnaemp.com |
Andy MacNae (born 29 April 1965[5]) is a BritishLabour Party politician who has served as theMember of Parliament forRossendale and Darwen since2024.[6]
MacNae was born in Southern England but moved around due to his father being in theRoyal Air Force and later a commercial pilot.[7] MacNae's mother Morag was Scottish and hermaiden name was McNee. MacNae's maternal grandmother Charlotte R McNee stood unsuccessfully for theLiberals in the former parliamentary constituency ofEdinburgh Pentlands in the1950 general election.[8][9] The family lived for some time inScotland andManchester before moving toNorthwich inCheshire, living in theWinnington area of the town.[10]
MacNae attendedSir John Deane's College[1] before going toUniversity College London to studyastrophysics.[7][2][11] In 1994 he gained aMasters qualification in Environmental Pollution Control from theUniversity of Leeds.[7][3][12] He went on to earn aMaster of Business Administration degree from theAlliance Manchester Business School.[4]
At university he became an avid mountaineer, joining the North London Mountaineering Club and climbingMount Kenya along with a 1988 climb ofShani Peak in theKarakoram range. He also climbed routes in theAlps, routes inZimbabwe and an attempt atMeru Peak.[1] In 1992 MacNae made the second ever ascent of Chomochior in theKishtwar Himalaya.[13][14] In 1994 he was the party leader for a climb onGasherbrum IV[15][16] and then in 1996 to scaleBaintha Brakk.[17][18] In 1999 he climbed numerous glaciers within theSchweizerland range inGreenland.[19][20]
A keen cyclist, he is a trustee ofCycling UK.[8] He is the director of Venture Extreme Consultancy Limited,[21] whose website describes him as "a leading authority on the development of extreme sport and adventure destinations." MacNae joined theBritish Mountaineering Council (BMC) in 1995 and rose to become the National Officer and Deputy Chief Executive of the organisation.[22][23][24] He left the BMC in December 2002.[25] He progressed to become Chief Executive of Mountain Services (UK mountaineering’s commercial arm) at the Mountain Heritage Trust.[4]
MacNae was elected as acouncillor onRossendale Borough Council in the2011 election gaining the ward of Greensclough from the Conservatives.[26] He lost the ward in the2015 election[27] by 10 votes before being reelected in the2016 election for the ward of Hareholme.[28] In the2021 election he won the ward ofStacksteads.[29] In the2023 election he gained the seat of Irwell from the Conservatives.[30] As a councillor he held portfolio roles in leisure and regeneration.[7]
In the2024 general election MacNae won the seat ofRossendale and Darwen defeatingJake Berry who had held the seat since the2010 general election. He had originally run for selection for the constituency in 2013 but lost out toWill Straw who failed to win the seat at the2015 general election.[31]
MacNae and his wife Vanessa live in theborough of Rossendale. Vanessa is a health visitor. They have had two children together – a son, and a daughter who died soon after birth due toEdwards syndrome.[8][32][7]
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