Major
Richard Foord
MP
Official portrait, 2022
Member of Parliament
for Tiverton and Honiton
Assumed office
23 June 2022
Preceded byNeil Parish
Majority6,144 (14.4%)
Liberal Democrat portfolios
2022-Defence
Personal details
Born
Richard John Foord

(1978-02-13) 13 February 1978[1]
Weston-super-Mare, Avon, England
Political partyLiberal Democrats
Children3
Alma mater
Signature
Websitewww.richardfoord.org.uk
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceBritish Army
Years of service2001–2010
RankMajor
UnitAdjutant General's Corps
Battles/warsIraq War

Richard John Foord[2] (/fɔːrd/; born 13 February 1978)[1][3] is a British politician and former British Army officer who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tiverton and Honiton in Devon since 2022.[4] A member of the Liberal Democrats, he won the seat in a by-election held on 23 June 2022, following the resignation due to scandal of the previous Conservative MP Neil Parish.

Early life and education

Foord was born in February 1978 [1] in Weston-super-Mare and went to school in Backwell.[5] He has a BA in history from Royal Holloway, University of London, an MSc in global security from Cranfield University and an MBA from the Open University.[6]

Career before politics

Having attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Foord was commissioned into the Educational and Training Services Branch of the Adjutant General's Corps of the British Army on 13 April 2001.[7] He was promoted to captain on 13 October 2003.[8] After attending Staff College, he was promoted to major on 31 July 2009.[3][9] He served in both the Balkans and Iraq, receiving three campaign medals.[10][11]

Before the election he was International Collaboration and Export Control Manager at the University of Oxford[12] having previously worked at the University of Exeter since 2010, most recently as acting head of global partnerships.[13][6] He grew up in North Somerset and lived in Yatton for 19 years; by 2017, he lived in Uffculme, Devon.[5]

Political career

Foord stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate for North Somerset in the 2017 general election, reaching third place.[5] He was elected to parliament in the 2022 Tiverton and Honiton by-election. In his victory speech, he made a critique of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's lack of integrity as a leader: "By any measure you are unfit to lead".[14][15]

In January 2023, Foord tabled his first bill in Parliament to legalise wild camping on Dartmoor National Park.[16] This came in the wake of a High Court ruling which saw the assumed right to wild camp at Dartmoor, established by the 1985 Dartmoor Commons Act,[17] overturned and replaced by an agreement between the Park Authority and local landowners.[18]

Personal life and interests

Foord is married and has three children.[15] He is a member of Sustrans and a qualified mountain leader.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Richard Foord MP". Twitter.com. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  2. ↑ "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED AND NOTICE OF POLL". Mid Devon District Council. 25 May 2022. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  3. 1 2 Diver, Tony (20 May 2022). "Lib Dems 'planting our tanks on the Tories' lawn' by selecting ex-Army Major for 'blue wall' seat". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  4. ↑ "Liberal Democrats win Tiverton and Honiton by-election to take Tory seat". Sky News. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Ashcroft, Esme (12 May 2017). "Richard Foord - North Somerset's Liberal Democrat for general election 2017". Bristol Post. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Richard Foord". LinkedIn. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "No. 56217". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 May 2001. p. 6341.
  8. ↑ "No. 57089". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 October 2003. p. 12990.
  9. ↑ "No. 59146". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 August 2009. pp. 13373–13376.
  10. ↑ "Richard Foord is our Tiverton and Honiton by-election candidate". Exeter Liberal Democrats.
  11. ↑ "Meet Richard". Richard Foord. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  12. ↑ "Richard Foord". researchsupport.admin.ox.ac.uk. University of Oxford. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  13. ↑ "Global Partnerships". www.exeter.ac.uk. University of Exeter. Retrieved 24 June 2022. ("Contacts" tab)
  14. ↑ Michin, Rod (24 June 2022). "Newly elected Lib Dem MP Richard Foord calls on Boris Johnson to quit". The Independent. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  15. 1 2 O'Leary, Miles (24 June 2022). "Lib Dem by-election win sends 'shockwave' through politics". DevonLive. Retrieved 24 June 2022. Includes full text of victory speech
  16. ↑ "National Parks (Camping) Bill". bills.parliament.uk/. Houses of Parliament. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  17. ↑ "Dartmoor Commons Act 1985" (PDF). www.dartmoorcommonerscouncil.org.uk/. Dartmoor Commoners Council. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  18. ↑ "Dartmoor wild camping agreement reached". www.bbc.co.uk/news. BBC. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
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