Richard Barnes (British politician)

Infobox AM
honorific-prefix =
name = Councillor Richard Barnes AM
honorific-suffix =


caption =
order = 4th Deputy Mayor of London
term_start = 6 May 2008
term_end =
1blankname = Mayor
1namedata = Boris Johnson
predecessor = Nicky Gavron
successor = Incumbent
constituency_AM2 = Ealing and Hillingdon
assembly2 = London
term_start2 = 4 May 2000
predecessor2 = "New constituency"
birth_date =
birth_place =
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
spouse =
party = Conservative
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = University of Wales
occupation =
profession =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

Richard Barnes is a politician and a Conservative member of the London Assembly representing the Ealing and Hillingdon constituency and the Deputy Mayor of London.

Education

Barnes is a graduate in economics from the University of Wales, and having spent a number of years living in various Scandinavian countries speaks Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and French and is currently learning British Sign Language. He is no longer fluent in some of the languages however.

Political career and community involvement

Barnes has been a councillor in the London Borough of Hillingdon since 1982 and was leader of that council from 1998, securing the re-election of the Conservative administration with an 11% swing, one of the most remarkable results in a poor year for the party. He is currently a councillor for Harefield, re-elected in 2006, and is a well known member of the village community, helping to secure important funding for the village infrastructure, and working hard with other stakeholders to help the fight to save and potect Harefield Hospital.

Barnes is a member of the North West London Strategic Health Authority and of the Metropolitan Police Authority, of which he was formerly deputy chairman. He speaks on policing for the Conservatives on the London Assembly and in late 2007 was elected as Leader of the Conservatives in the London Assembly.

A member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, formerly Deputy Chair, law and order / crime and disorder / London resilience and safety are Richard’s foremost interests on the Assembly and he authored the report, and chaired the enquiry, into the London bombings of 7th July 2005. This has led to his taking a very public national and international role in the fight against terrorism, particulalry in addressing the ability of urban authorities to build resistance and response mechanisms to potential atrocities. In 2007 he spoke at conferences in both Dubai and New York.

Barnes opposed Section 28 and is openly gay. [cite web |title=Gay candidate welcomes Boris to Mayoral race |url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-4950.html |date=2007-07-16 |accessdate=2007-08-04 |work=PinkNews]

Appointment as statutory Deputy Mayor of London

After Boris Johnson's victory in the 2008 mayoral election, Barnes was appointed on 6 May 2008 as statutory Deputy Mayor of London, [cite web |title=Boris Johnson announces further senior appointments to his administration|url=http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=16774 |date=2008-05-06 |accessdate=2008-05-06 |work=london.gov.uk] making him both the first male and the first LGBT Deputy Mayor of London.

References

External links

* [http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/members/barnesr.jsp Biography from the London Assembly]
* [http://www.richardbarnes.info Official website]