Ian Mearns is a British Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 politician who is the Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for Gateshead

Gateshead (UK Parliament constituency)

Gateshead is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election. A previous Gateshead constituency existed from 1832 to 1950....

. He was first elected at the 2010 general election.

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

, Mearns was educated at St Mary's RC Primary School, Forest Hall

Forest Hall

Forest Hall is a village east of Benton in North Tyneside in the north of England.-Facilities:There are pubs, social clubs and a shopping centre with a variety of shops, take away food outlets and two restaurants. It has two supermarkets. One is Sainsbury's Local, which opened in November 2007...

 and St Mary's RC Technical College in Newcastle. He worked for British Gas plc

British Gas plc

British Gas plc was formerly the monopoly gas supplier and is a private sector in the United Kingdom.- History :In the early 1900s the gas market in the United Kingdom was mainly run by county councils and small private firms...

 from 1974. He has been a member of Gateshead

Gateshead

Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...

 Borough Council since 1983. In Parliament he has served on the Education Select Committee since 2010.

External links

• Mearns' page on Gateshead Labour Party site
• Mearns' page as councillor on Gateshead Council site