The Lord Redesdale | |
---|---|
Member of the House of Lords | |
Lord Temporal | |
as a hereditary peer 4 March 1991 –11 November 1999 | |
Preceded by | Clement Mitford,5th Baron Redesdale |
Succeeded by | Seat abolished [a] |
as a life peer 18 April 2000 –present | |
Personal details | |
Born | Rupert Bertram Mitford 18 July 1967 London |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Liberal Democrat |
Spouse(s) | Helen née Shipsey, Lady Redesdale |
Children | Two sons,two daughters |
Alma mater | Newcastle University |
Occupation | Politician |
Rupert Bertram Mitford,6th Baron Redesdale,Baron Mitford (born 18 July 1967),is a British hereditary peer,Liberal Democrat politician and member of the prominent Mitford family.
Mitford was educated at Milton Abbey and Highgate School,before going up to Newcastle University,where he graduated with the degree of BA.
He succeeded his father as Baron Redesdale ,of Redesdale in the County of Northumberland,in 1991.
Following the removal of hereditary peers' automatic right to a seat in Parliament by the House of Lords Act 1999,the Liberal Democrats took advantage of an offer from the New Labour Government for some of their hereditary peers to return to the House as working peers. Redesdale was created a life peer on 18 April 2000,as Baron Mitford,of Redesdale in the County of Northumberland. [1] [2] At the age of 32,he was the youngest person ever to receive a life peerage,a record held until Charlotte Owen was made a peeress in 2023 at the age of 30. [3] By convention,the House of Lords refer to peers holding multiple titles by whichever is senior within the peerage. Thus Mitford is known in the House as Lord Redesdale.
He is a first cousin once removed of the famous Mitford sisters,daughters of the 2nd Baron Redesdale. The youngest of the sisters,Deborah,Duchess of Devonshire,was,with her husband,the 11th Duke,active in the Social Democratic Party. This later merged with the Liberal Party to become the Liberal Democrats,for whom Redesdale sits in the House of Lords.
He has spoken on various issues on behalf of the Liberal Democrats Parliamentary Party,such as the environment,international development,and science and technology. He is patron of various societies,including one encouraged by his parliamentary colleagues,namely the Red Squirrel Protection Partnership, [4] which advocates strict control of the grey squirrel population so as to enhance the chance of red squirrels' survival. [5] [6]
Lord Redesdale was the Energy Spokesman for the Liberal Democrats for the House of Lords from 2000 to 2008. In 2009 he founded the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association. [7]
In 2012 Redesdale founded,and became the CEO of,the Energy Managers Association. [8]
The Energy Managers Association (EMA) was set up in February 2012 to act as the voice for energy managers across all industries and to enhance the recognition of the Energy Management profession. Redesdale stood down from his role as CEO in December 2020,but remains on the board. [9]
In November 2013,he,along with Jason Franks (formerly of the Daily Mail and General Trust events division),founded Heelec,which launched the Energy Management Exhibition (EMEX). The show attracts over 4,500 professionals from the Energy Managers Association's 25,000-large community. [10]
In 2022,the EMEX London exhibition was acquired by Mark Allen Group to which Redesdale has agreed to stay on as a consultant. [11]
In May 2021,Lord Redesdale,along with business partners, [12] launched an annual exhibition for the UK Metals Sector called the UK Metals Expo,which saw its first edition hosted in September 2022. [13]
The UK Metals Expo benefits from full endorsement and collaboration from the UK Metals Council, [14] its member trade associations and numerous other industry bodies,under the leadership of Lord Redesdale as the conference chair.
At the beginning of the 2022–23 parliamentary session,Lord Redesdale entered a Climate and Ecology Bill in the House of Lords new session private members' bill ballot. It was drawn eighth,and the bill's first reading took place on 21 May 2022. Its second reading took place on 15 July 2022,where a cross-party group of peers spoke in favour. At committee stage,Redesdale amended the bill to focus on its nature target in light of the agreement reached at COP15 for nations to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. The amended bill—the Ecology Bill—passed through its remaining Lords stages successfully,and was handed over to Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat MP for Bath) on 25 April 2023.
He lives with his wife,Helen (née Shipsey),Lady Redesdale,who is a lawyer,and their four children (Bertram,Clementine,Amelia,Edward) near Tufnell Park,north London,as well as in Northumberland.
The heir apparent to the title is the Hon. Bertram Mitford,born in 2000.
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest institutions in the world, its origins lie in the early 11th century and the emergence of bicameralism in the 13th century.
John Archibald Sinclair, 3rd Viscount Thurso,, known also as John Thurso, is a Scottish businessman, Liberal Democrat politician and hereditary peer who is notable for having served in the House of Lords both before and after a period in the House of Commons.
Alan James Beith, Baron Beith, is a British Liberal Democrat politician who represented Berwick-upon-Tweed as its Member of Parliament (MP) from 1973 to 2015.
The House of Lords Act 1999 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats ; the Act removed such a right. However, as part of a compromise, the Act allowed ninety-two hereditary peers to remain in the House. Another ten were created life peers to enable them to remain in the House.
Eric Reginald Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, was an English politician and human rights campaigner. He served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Orpington from 1962 to 1970. He then served in the House of Lords, having inherited the title of Baron Avebury in 1971, until his death. In 1999, when most hereditary peers were removed from the House of Lords, he was elected by his fellow Liberal Democrats to remain. When he died, he was the longest serving Liberal Democrat peer.
Baron Redesdale, of Redesdale in the County of Northumberland, is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was firstly created in 1802 for the lawyer and politician Sir John Mitford. The title was created anew in 1902 for the former's cousin thrice removed Bertram Freeman-Mitford.
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the Dukedom of Edinburgh awarded for life to Prince Edward in 2023, all life peerages conferred since 2009 have been created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 with the rank of baron and entitle their holders to sit and vote in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as age and citizenship. The legitimate children of a life peer appointed under the Life Peerages Act 1958 are entitled to style themselves with the prefix "The Honourable", although they cannot inherit the peerage itself. Prior to 2009, life peers of baronial rank could also be so created under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 for senior judges.
John Freeman-Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale, PC, KC, FRS, known as Sir John Mitford between 1793 and 1802, was an English lawyer and politician. He was Speaker of the House of Commons between 1801 and 1802 and Lord Chancellor of Ireland between 1802 and 1806.
John Thomas Freeman-Mitford, 1st Earl of Redesdale, styled as the 2nd Baron Redesdale between January 1830 and January 1877, was a Protestant controversialist and member of the House of Lords.
Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale,, was a British diplomat, collector and writer, whose most notable work is Tales of Old Japan (1871). Nicknamed "Bertie", he was the paternal grandfather of the Mitford sisters.
Dominic Bryce Hubbard, 6th Baron Addington, is a British Liberal Democrat politician, the president of the British Dyslexic Association and the vice-president of the UK Sports Association.
Bertram Stanley Mitford Bowyer, 2nd Baron Denham,, was a British Conservative politician, hereditary peer, writer and former member of the House of Lords. He was one of the few people to serve in the governments of five different prime ministers.
David Bertram Ogilvy Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale,, was a British peer, soldier, and landowner. He was the father of the Mitford sisters, in whose various novels and memoirs he is depicted.
The senior deputy speaker is an officer of the House of Lords whose main role is to preside over the house when it is in committee, either in the Lords Chamber or in Grand Committee, which is when committee stage is taken away from the floor to free up debating time in the main chamber. The senior deputy speaker deputises for the lord speaker, and like the lord speaker withdraws from political party membership. Additionally, the senior deputy speaker chairs various select committees of the house, and has a role in the administration of the house.
By-elections to the House of Lords occur when vacancies arise among seats assigned to hereditary peers due to death, resignation, or disqualification. Candidates for these by-elections are limited to holders of hereditary peerages, and their electorates are made up of sitting Lords; in most cases the electorate are those sitting hereditary peers of the same party affiliation as the departed peer.
Jonathan Clive Marks, Baron Marks of Henley-on-Thames, is a British barrister and Liberal Democrat life peer in the House of Lords.
Christopher Francis Fox, Baron Fox, is a British Liberal Democrat politician.
Jasset David Cody Ormsby-Gore, 7th Baron Harlech, is a British hereditary peer and Conservative member of the House of Lords. He has been serving as a Lord in Waiting since September 2022.
The Climate and Nature Bill, formerly promoted as the Climate and Ecology Bill, is a private member's bill before the Parliament of the United Kingdom aimed at tackling the climate crisis and environmental disaster.