# Andy MacNae

Andy MacNae (born 29 April 1965) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Rossendale and Darwen since 2024.

## Education and professional career

MacNae was born in Southern England but moved around due to his father being in the Royal Air Force and later a commercial pilot. MacNae's mother Morag was Scottish and her maiden name was McNee. MacNae's maternal grandmother Charlotte R McNee stood unsuccessfully for the Liberals in the former parliamentary constituency of Edinburgh Pentlands in the 1950 general election. The family lived for some time in Scotland and Manchester before moving to Northwich in Cheshire, living in the Winnington area of the town.
MacNae attended Sir John Deane's College before going to University College London to study astrophysics. In 1994 he gained a Masters qualification in Environmental Pollution Control from the University of Leeds. He went on to earn a Master of Business Administration degree from the Alliance Manchester Business School.
At university he became an avid mountaineer, joining the North London Mountaineering Club and climbing Mount Kenya along with a 1988 climb of Shani Peak in the Karakoram range. He also climbed routes in the Alps, routes in Zimbabwe and an attempt at Meru Peak. In 1992 MacNae made the second ever ascent of Chomochior in the Kishtwar Himalaya. In 1994 he was the party leader for a climb on Gasherbrum IV and then in 1996 to scale Baintha Brakk. In 1999 he climbed numerous glaciers within the Schweizerland range in Greenland.
A keen cyclist, he is a trustee of Cycling UK. He is the director of Venture Extreme Consultancy Limited, whose website describes him as "a leading authority on the development of extreme sport and adventure destinations." MacNae joined the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) in 1995 and rose to become the National Officer and Deputy Chief Executive of the organisation. He left the BMC in December 2002. He progressed to become Chief Executive of Mountain Services (UK mountaineering’s commercial arm) at the Mountain Heritage Trust.

## Political career

MacNae was elected as a councillor on Rossendale Borough Council in the 2011 election gaining the ward of Greensclough from the Conservatives. He lost the ward in the 2015 election by 10 votes before being reelected in the 2016 election for the ward of Hareholme. In the 2021 election he won the ward of Stacksteads. In the 2023 election he gained the seat of Irwell from the Conservatives. As a councillor he held portfolio roles in leisure and regeneration.
In the 2024 general election MacNae won the seat of Rossendale and Darwen defeating Jake Berry who had held the seat since the 2010 general election. He had originally run for selection for the constituency in 2013 but lost out to Will Straw who failed to win the seat at the 2015 general election.

## Personal life

MacNae and his wife Vanessa live in the borough of Rossendale. Vanessa is a health visitor. They have had two children together – a son, and a daughter who died soon after birth due to Edwards syndrome.

## Books

* MacNae, Andy; Last, Adge; Newton, Andy (2000). Safety on Mountains. British Mountaineering Council. ISBN 978-0-903908-27-6.
* MacNae, Andy (1994). "Avoiding the Chamonix Trade Routes" (PDF). Alpine Journal. Alpine Club: 35–38.
* MacNae, Andy (2017). "The Future of the MEF" (PDF). Alpine Journal. Alpine Club: 135–138.