City Hall
After Boris Johnson's victory in the 2008 London mayoral election, Johnson selected Ranger to be his director for transport policy. [8] From 2008 he oversaw all transport policy for London and sat on the board of TfL. Ranger led on initiatives including the new Routemaster Bus, [9] public realm improvements such as Oxford Circus, [10] Exhibition Road, [11] and Legible London, [12] and the launch of the Santander Cycle Scheme (Barclays Cycle Hire at the time). [13]
In 2011, he became Director for Environment and Digital London, with his work resulting in a focus on ‘Cleaner Air for London’ with a range of projects and campaigns to improve London's air quality. [14] [15] [16] He established the London Electric Vehicle Partnership which led to the development of the 'Source London' charging network with a number of new electric car charging points established in London to encourage a higher take up of electric vehicles. [17] [18] Ranger also supported the development of the London Datastore. [19]
Political
Ranger was selected as the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for Makerfield at the 2005 general election, but lost to the incumbent, then Chairman of the Labour Party, Sir Ian McCartney. [23] He unsuccessfully stood in the ward of Syon at the 2006 Hounslow London Borough Council election. [24]
From 2007-2008, Ranger was appointed as Vice-chair of the Conservative Party. [25] Ranger was part of the Conservative A-List for the 2010 general election but did not stand. [26] He was on the long list to be the Conservative party candidate for the 2021 London mayoral election. [27]
House of Lords
Ranger was nominated for a life peerage in Boris Johnson's resignation honours list. [28] [29] On 11 July 2023, he was created Baron Ranger of Northwood, of Pimlico in the City of Westminster, [30] and was introduced to the House of Lords on 20 July. [31] Ranger gave his maiden speech on 14 November 2023. [32]
In May 2024, the House of Lords Conduct Committee found that Ranger had drunkenly bullied and harassed two members of parliamentary staff in the House of Commons Strangers' Bar in January 2024. The committee recommended that Ranger be suspended for three weeks and denied access to the bars of the House of Lords for twelve months. [33] Ranger resigned the Conservative whip in the Lords and sat as a non-affiliated peer. [34] [35] The committee's recommendations were approved by the House of Lords on 18 July. [36] Following his suspension, the Conservative whip was restored to Ranger on 9 August. [35]
Ranger was appointed to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee in January 2025. [37] He is Vice-chair for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on AI. He is also co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Digital Money and Digital Markets. [38]
