Why are you leaving Parliament?
Ian McCartney: It’s simply down to ill health. For the last few years I have suffered from a range of illnesses, and I’m never certain when I will be ill or what I will be ill with. In December 2008 I decided that if I was still ill by the following spring, then I would let the party know that I was going to retire.
How hard was it to reach that decision?
It was heartbreaking. This is the only job I have ever wanted to do, and it has come to a premature end. I believe I still had a lot to offer.
What will you miss about being an MP?
I will miss friendships. I will miss the cut and thrust of the debate – most of all being able to make a difference and help people’s lives, whether it’s in the constituency, the wider UK, or even abroad.
What are you proudest of in your time as an MP?
I was involved in the planning and implementation of the first ever national minimum wage. As a young backbench MP I ran the campaign to ban dangerous foam furniture, and that ban has since saved countless lives in the last 20 years. I did a lot of work on employment rights; I wrote the report which brought in legislative changes to give courts the power to size criminal assets and redeploy them in the community. I also helped victims of the Farepak collapse, and then I was involved in the Warwick Agreement.
What won’t you miss?
I won’t miss being away. I’ve been away from my family for 23 years, almost leading a double life. My wife and I see each other only on fleeting occasions. Despite that I have mainly very positive memories of my time here.
Do you regret anything?
No, I don’t, but there are obviously unfulfilled ambitions and there are campaigns that are uncompleted. I would like to have been Secretary of State for Health; I could have been a patient in charge of the NHS!
You were heavily involved in the 2005 election…
I was chairman of the National Executive Committee, chairman of the National Policy Forum, and chairman of the party at the same time. That’s never happened before and I don’t think it will ever happen again, as structural changes have taken place. I’d effectively been in the same roles in the run-up to the 2001 election too. I was involved in the planning of the manifesto and the infrastructure of the election campaign itself. It’s a bit strange to be an innocent by-stander this time, but life moves on.
Do you have any advice for the 2010 campaign team?
You offer advice if you have the total knowledge of what is going on, and I don’t have that. I just wish all good luck to the Labour team.
What about advice to the next generation of MPs?
Everyone goes into Parliament with personal ambition, but sometimes that can overwhelm people and becomes the be-all of everything. There may well be other ways of doing things to achieve the same ends, so working with people and building coalitions in your party, and wider still, is important too.
How has the role of an MP changed since you were elected?
A few years ago you never saw your MP from one election to another. I think my generation, who came in in the early 1980s, recognised the importance of the relationship with your constituents, and I have spent the last quarter of the century communicating with them on an almost daily basis. At the same time the pressure on MPs has increased, sometimes almost to breaking point. Public perception has changed, and not just because of the expenses issue. A lot more people see you as a service to be used, and the expectation on delivering for them, individually, is very high.
How about changes in Parliament?
I used to enjoy frustrating and holding up government legislation, not with stupid arguments, but with robust and intellectual opposition. Backbenchers have less opportunity to do that now – everything is timetabled. It’s not just about standing up in the chamber, but it’s about the use of campaigning, and Westminster Hall. For my campaign to ban cigarette vending machines I used EDMs, contacted other MPs, and went through select committees to get the government to agree to ban them.
How has your party changed?
The Labour Party now sees itself as a natural party of government, not a natural party of opposition, and I always saw that change as part of my raison d’etre. We don’t have the fractiousness of the 1970s and the 1980s, though that doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be different points of view.
What will you be up to next?
Reconnecting with my grandchildren, my wife, my family and my friends. I also want to get fit and well again.
Will you stay involved in politics?
I was born in the Labour Party, and I’ll die in the Labour Party. I’m totally committed to public service, and I think the capacity of ordinary men and women to give public service is something we should never lose.
