Chris Coghlan (politician)

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Chris Coghlan
MP
Official portrait of Chris Coghlan MP crop 2.jpg
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament
for Dorking and Horley
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Alma mater
Military service
AllegianceFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
Branch/serviceFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army (Reserve)
Years of service2017 – 2022
Rank Captain

Christopher Austin Francis Coghlan [3] is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Dorking and Horley since 2024. He previously co-founded the Renew Party in 2018.

Contents

Early life and education

Coghlan grew up in Peaslake, a village near Guildford, Surrey. [4] He graduated from King's College London in 2001, later completing a master's degree in finance at London Business School in 2012 and gaining a Master of Public Administration degree at Harvard Kennedy School in 2014. [5]

A former officer in the Army Reserve, Coghlan was called up to serve in Iraq as a military advisor in 2020. [4] He was a Foreign and Commonwealth Office anti-terrorism officer, [6] [7] but resigned because he was "demoralised by the failure of our politicians to deliver opportunity in government, fight Corbyn and a hard Brexit". [8]

Political career

Coghlan stood as an independent anti-Brexit candidate in Battersea in the 2017 general election. In 2018, he co-founded the Renew Party, a minor centrist political party that stood for "a second referendum and a tech revolution to leave no one behind". [6] [8] He left the party later that year after disagreements with other senior members. [9]

Coghlan was elected to Mole Valley District Council for the ward of Dorking North in the 2021 council election as a Liberal Democrat. [10]

In the 2024 general election, Coghlan was elected as the Liberal Democrat MP for the new seat of Dorking and Horley with 41.9 per cent of the vote and a majority of 5,391. [11]

Personal life

Coghlan lives in Dorking with his wife Clara and their three daughters. [4] Coghlan is a Roman Catholic. [12] He was barred from receiving Holy Communion due to his support for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. [13]

Notes

  1. ↑ The Mole Valley constituency was renamed "Dorking and Horley" at the 2024 general election, with major boundary changes [1] [2]

References

  1. ↑ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – South West | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  2. ↑ "South East: New Constituency Boundaries 2023". Electoral Calculus. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  3. ↑ "No. 64465". The London Gazette . 22 July 2024. p. 14085.
  4. 1 2 3 "Cllr Chris Coghlan". Mole Valley District Council. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  5. ↑ "2022 Chris Coghlan". Mole Valley Liberal Democrats. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  6. 1 2 Wright, Robert (14 October 2017). "New anti-Brexit party hopes to capture UK politics centre ground" . Financial Times. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  7. ↑ Clark, Sam (4 May 2018). "How Renew Britain aims to start a 'tech revolution'". The Stack. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  8. 1 2 Coghlan, Chris (12 April 2018). "Why I quit my foreign office job to set up a centrist party". The Times . Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  9. ↑ Pack, Mark (24 May 2018). "Implosion at Renew, one of the new centrist/pro-European parties". Mark Pack. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "District Council Election Results – 6 May 2021". Mole Valley District Council. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  11. ↑ "Dorking and Horley | General Election 2024". Sky News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  12. ↑ "I was told I was complicit in a murderous act for backing..." The Observer. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  13. ↑ "Priest denies MP holy communion over his support for assi..." The Observer. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
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