[1][2] Born in Glasgow, the son of a tram driver, McCartney studied at John Street Senior Secondary School in the Bridgeton area of the city, and at the Royal Technical College (later the University of Strathclyde) in the city centre.
He joined the Independent Labour Party's Guild of Youth at the age of 14 and began a textile apprenticeship.
During the Second World War he entered engineering at Rolls-Royce in Coventry and for the Royal Air Force, becoming active as a trade unionist.
That year he was elected to Parliament for the Clydeside seat of Dunbartonshire East, defeating Communist shipbuilders' trade union leader Jimmy Reid.
Ian also had a career in politics, and his roles included Minister of State for Trade, Chairman of the Labour Party and Member of Parliament for Makerfield between 1987 and 2010.