Lee Dillon | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Newbury | |
Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
Preceded by | Laura Farris |
Majority | 2,337 (4.8%) |
Leader of West Berkshire Council | |
In office 4 May 2023 –30 April 2024 | |
Succeeded by | Jeff Brooks |
Constituency | Thatcham North East |
Personal details | |
Born | 1983 (age 41) Thatcham,England |
Political party | Liberal Democrats |
Website | https://www.leedillon.co.uk |
Lee Raymond James Dillon [1] (born 1983) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newbury since 2024. He gained the seat from Conservative,Laura Farris. [2]
Before entering Parliament,Dillon was a social housing senior manager for sovereign housing and had served as Leader of West Berkshire Council from 2023 to 2024. [3] [4]
Dillon describes former Newbury MP,David Rendel,as his political inspiration. [5]
Dillon became a councillor on Thatcham town council in 2007,twice elected as the mayor. [6] In 2015,he became a councillor on West Berkshire Council. [7]
At the 2023 local elections,the Liberal Democrats took majority control of West Berkshire Council. [8] [9] Subsequently,Dillon was elected council leader. [10] He took sabbatical leave from the role in January 2024,before resigning as leader on 30 April 2024 to contest the Newbury constituency in the upcoming general election. [11]
Dillon first stood for election at the 2005 general election in Islwyn,coming third with 12.5%. [12] He again stood for election for the Newbury constituency in the 2019 general election,coming second with 30.6%. [13]
In 2023,Dillon was re-selected as the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Newbury. [14] He went on to win the constituency at the 2024 general election with 40.1%,winning the seat for the Liberal Democrats for the first time since 2001. [15] [16]
Dillon grew up in Thatcham,where his family owns a local pub. [17]
Dillon has a wife and young children. His father was a trade union official. [4] [17]
A keen football fan,he regularly takes his children to watch Reading F.C.,and supports his local team,Thatcham Town F.C. [17]
David Digby Rendel was a British politician for the Liberal Democrats. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newbury from 1993 to 2005. He won the seat in a by-election in May 1993 caused by the death of Judith Chaplin,and he held it until his defeat at the 2005 general election to Conservative candidate Richard Benyon. At the time he lost his seat he was the Liberal Democrats' spokesman on Higher and Further Education. In September 2014,Rendel was selected as Liberal Democrat candidate in the 2015 general election for the seat of Somerton and Frome in Somerset;however,he lost to the Conservative candidate,David Warburton.
Thatcham is a market town and civil parish in the West Berkshire,England. It is situated in the valley of the River Kennet 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Newbury,14 miles (23 km) west of Reading and 54 miles (87 km) west of London. The town has a long history dating back to prehistoric times,a claimant to the title of oldest continuously inhabited place in Great Britain. As of 2021,it had a population of 25,464,though it is part of a built-up area comprising itself and neighbouring Newbury of over 70,000 residents. It is on the route of the A4 Bath Road,the historic main road between London and Bristol.
Reading West was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.
Oxford West and Abingdon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Layla Moran,a Liberal Democrat.
Newbury is a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom,located in the English county of Berkshire. It was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 and has been in continual existence since then. It has been represented by Lee Dillon of the Liberal Democrats since 2024.
Wokingham is a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom,located in the English county of Berkshire. From its creation in 1950 until 2024,it was represented solely by Conservatives. Most notably,John Redwood,who held his position from 1984 until 2024,where he stepped down after the dissolution of parliament.
The 1993 Newbury by-election was triggered by the death of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newbury,the Conservative Judith Chaplin. The by-election was held on 6 May 1993,and was won by David Rendel of the Liberal Democrats with a large swing of 28.4%,and well over twice as many votes as the Conservative candidate. As with the overwhelming majority of UK by-elections,turnout was lower than at the general election,falling from 83% to 71%.
Islwyn was a constituency in Wales represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The area,historically known for coal-mining,had voted for Labour Party candidates since it was created effective at the 1983 general election. Islwyn's first Member of Parliament (MP) was Neil Kinnock,who represented it until he resigned from Parliament in 1995. Kinnock also served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1983 until 1992.
Bracknell is a constituency in Berkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Peter Swallow,from the Labour Party. It was created for the 1997 general election,largely replacing the abolished county constituency of East Berkshire.
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Richard Henry Ronald Benyon,Baron Benyon is a British politician who served as Minister of State for Climate,Environment and Energy from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party,he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Newbury from 2005 to 2019.
West Berkshire Council is the local authority for West Berkshire,a unitary authority in Berkshire,England. Until 1 April 1998 it was a non-metropolitan district called Newbury.
West Berkshire Council is the local authority of West Berkshire in Berkshire,England. It is a unitary authority,having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. West Berkshire is divided into 24 wards,electing 43 councillors. The council was created in 1974 as the Newbury District Council. On 1 April 1998 it was renamed West Berkshire Council and since then has been a unitary authority,assuming the powers and functions of the abolished Berkshire County Council within the district. In the 2023 election the Liberal Democrats won 29 out of 43 seats.
Duncan John Hames is a Director of Policy at Transparency International UK and a former Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Chippenham constituency in Wiltshire from 2010 to 2015. Between 2012 and 2015,he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Nick Clegg when he was Deputy Prime Minister.
The 2011 West Berkshire Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of West Berkshire Council in Berkshire,England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
Gerald Vernon-Jackson CBE is a Liberal Democrat politician in Portsmouth,England. He was the leader of Portsmouth City Council between 2018 and 2023,and 2004–2014,and councillor for Milton Ward since 2003.
Laura Rose Farris is a British Conservative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newbury from 2019 until 2024. Prior to her parliamentary career,she worked as a journalist and later as a barrister. She was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Victims and Safeguarding from November 2023 until July 2024.
The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday,4 July 2024. Thirty-two seats were up for election in Wales as the general election occurred after the recently completed boundary review took effect. The Labour Party won a landslide victory of Welsh MPs,gaining six seats for a total of 27. Both Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats gained one seat each,taking them to four seats and one seat respectively. The Conservatives lost all thirteen seats they had held previously,leaving the party without Westminster representation from Wales for the first time since 2001.
The 2023 West Berkshire Council election took take place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of West Berkshire Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections across England.
Reading West and Mid Berkshire,originally known as simply Mid Berkshire,is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was formed as a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and subsumes parts of the Newbury,Wokingham,and the former Reading West constituencies. It was first contested at the 2024 general election. The current MP is Olivia Bailey.