Jason McCartney was first elected as the Conservative MP for Colne Valley in 2010 before losing the seat in 2017. He was reelected in 2019 with a majority of 5,378.
The constituency of Colne Valley is a semi rural seat found in West Yorkshire on the outskirts of Huddersfield. Alongside some areas of Huddersfield itself, the seat includes the small towns of Holmfirth, Marsden and Slaithwaite in the eastern Pennines. This area of England was once portrayed in the long running television series, the Last of the Summer Wine.
This seat was once a three way marginal and was represented by the Liberal Democrats between 1974 and 1987. In recent years it has seen a highly competitive straight fight between Labour and the Conservatives. The seat has changed hands considerably during that time. It was held by the Conservatives between 1987 and 1997, by Labour between 1997 and 2010, the Conservatives between 2010 and 2017, Labour between 2017 and 2019, and the Conservatives again post 2019. It was almost exactly evenly split over Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum.
Jason McCartney was born in Yorkshire in 1968. Before entering Parliament he served in the RAF reaching the rank of Flight Lieutenant. He served in both Iraq and Turkey.
He later became a broadcast journalist with his own show on Huddersfield FM, for BBC local radio, and as the weekend presenter for ITV Calendar News & Sport in Leeds. He has also lectured in broadcast journalism at Leeds Beckett University.
During his period out of Parliament between 2017 and 2019, McCartney worked as Head of Public Affairs at Huddersfield University, and as a Director of the Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.
McCartney supported Brexit in the 2016 European Union referendum.
Jason McCartney is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Baseball and Softball; Fairtrade; ITV; Sixth Form Education; and Woods and Trees.
He is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Kashmir; Kurdistan; the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community; the BBC; Channel Four; Football supporters; Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood; Homelessness; Hospitality and Tourism; Northern Culture; Northern Powerhouse; Rowing; Rugby League; State Pension Inequality for Women; Suicide and Self Harm Prevention; Transport Across the North; Universities; Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire; and Waterways.
McCartney is a season ticket holder at Huddersfield Town Football Club, and also enjoys Rugby League.
Email: jason mccartney.mp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: jasonmccartney.com
Twitter: twitter.com/JasonMcCartney
