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, Coughlan 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 an excommunicated 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.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency Member of Parliament
for Dorking and Horley
2024–present		Incumbent
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