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Richard Foord

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Major
Richard Foord
MP
Official portrait, 2022
Member of Parliament
for Honiton and Sidmouth
Tiverton and Honiton (2022–2024)
Incumbent
Assumed office
23 June 2022
Preceded byNeil Parish
Majority6,700 (13.2%)
Liberal Democrat portfolios
2022–2024Defence
Personal details
Born
Richard John Foord

(1978-02-13) 13 February 1978 (age 46)
Weston-super-Mare, England
Political partyLiberal Democrats
Children3
Alma mater
Signature
Websitewww.richardfoord.org.uk Edit this at Wikidata
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceBritish Army
Years of service2001–2010
RankMajor
UnitAdjutant General's Corps
Battles/warsIraq War

Richard John Foord (/fɔːrd/; born 13 February 1978)[1][2] is a British Liberal Democrat politician and former British Army officer who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Honiton and Sidmouth, previously Tiverton and Honiton, since 2022.

Early life and education

Richard John Foord[3] was born on 13 February 1978 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, and went to Backwell School.[4][1] 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.[5]

Career

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.[6] He was promoted to captain on 13 October 2003.[7] After attending Staff College, he was promoted to major on 31 July 2009.[2][8] He served in both the Balkans and Iraq, receiving three campaign medals.[9][10]

Before his election to Parliament, Foord was International Collaboration and Export Control Manager at the University of Oxford,[11] having previously worked at the University of Exeter from 2010, most recently as acting head of global partnerships.[12] He grew up in North Somerset and lived in Yatton for 19 years; by 2017, he lived in Uffculme, Devon.[4]

Parliamentary career

Foord stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate for North Somerset at the snap 2017 general election, coming third with 9.6% of the vote behind the incumbent Conservative MP Liam Fox and the Labour Party candidate.[13]

Following the resignation of Conservative MP Neil Parish from Parliament, Foord was elected as the MP for Tiverton and Honiton at a 2022 by-election with 52.9 per cent of the vote and a majority of 6,144.[14]

In January 2023, Foord tabled his first bill in Parliament to legalise wild camping on Dartmoor.[15] This came in the wake of a High Court ruling which saw the assumed right to wild camp at Dartmoor, established by the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985, overturned and replaced by an agreement between the Park Authority and local landowners.[16]

In July 2023, Foord launched a campaign to keeping Seaton hospital open, after it emerged a whole wing of the hospital was at risk of being sold off.[17] He is chair of the 'Save Seaton Hospital' steering committee, which is working to ensure the hospital remains within the local community. He has raised this issue several times in Parliament, presenting a petition calling for the government to intervene and block plans to sell part of it off in February 2024,[18] and organising a large public meeting in Colyford to allow the community to express their concerns.[19]

Due to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Foord's constituency of Tiverton and Honiton was abolished, and replaced with Honiton and Sidmouth. At the 2024 general election, Foord was elected to Parliament as MP for Honiton and Sidmouth with 45.4% of the vote and a majority of 6,700.[20] He is an Advisory Board member of the Council on Geostrategy.[21]

Personal life

Foord is married and lives in Uffculme with his wife and three children.[22] He is a member of Sustrans and a qualified mountain leader.[4] He previously ran the London Marathon, raising thousands to support the Royal British Legion.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b "Richard Foord MP". Twitter.com. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b 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.
  3. ^ "No. 64465". The London Gazette. 22 July 2024. p. 14087.
  4. ^ a b c Ashcroft, Esme (12 May 2017). "Richard Foord - North Somerset's Liberal Democrat for general election 2017". Bristol Post. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Richard Foord". LinkedIn. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  6. ^ "No. 56217". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 May 2001. p. 6341.
  7. ^ "No. 57089". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 October 2003. p. 12990.
  8. ^ "No. 59146". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 August 2009. p. 13376.
  9. ^ "Richard Foord is our Tiverton and Honiton by-election candidate". Exeter Liberal Democrats.
  10. ^ "Meet Richard". Richard Foord. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Richard Foord". University of Oxford. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Global Partnerships". University of Exeter. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  13. ^ "Somerset North". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  14. ^ "Liberal Democrats win Tiverton and Honiton by-election to take Tory seat". Sky News. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  15. ^ "National Parks (Camping) Bill". bills.parliament.uk/. Houses of Parliament. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Dartmoor wild camping agreement reached". BBC News. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Richard Foord: 'The fight to save Seaton Hospital'". Midweek Herald. 2023-11-07. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  18. ^ "Richard Foord takes Seaton Hospital petition to parliament". Midweek Herald. 2024-02-27. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  19. ^ "NHS Property Services challenged over Seaton Hospital sale". Devon Live. 2023-11-07. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  20. ^ "UK General Election results July 2024 - Declaration of results for Honiton and Sidmouth constituency 4 July 2024". East Devon. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  21. ^ "'Advisory Board'". Council on Geostrategy. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  22. ^ O'Leary, Miles (24 June 2022). "Lib Dem by-election win sends 'shockwave' through politics". DevonLive. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Meet Richard Foord".
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Richard Foord.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Tiverton and Honiton
2022–2024 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament
for Honiton and Sidmouth
2024–present 		Incumbent
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