Charlie Maynard
{{Short description|British politician}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = Councillor
| name = Charlie Maynard
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MP}}
| image = Official portrait of Charlie Maynard MP crop 2.jpg
| caption = Official portrait, 2024
| parliament = United Kingdom
| constituency_MP = Witney
| term_start = 4 July 2024
| term_end =
| predecessor = Robert Courts
| successor =
| majority = 4,339 (8.6%)
| office1 = Member of West Oxfordshire District Council for Standlake, Aston and Stanton Harcourt
| term_start1 = 9 May 2022
| term_end1 =
| birth_name = Charles Adrian MacFie Maynard
| birth_date = {{year of birth and age|1971|2}}
| birth_place =
| party = Liberal Democrats
| alma_mater = Christ Church, Oxford
| website = {{URL|https://www.charliemaynard.org/}}
}}
Charles Adrian MacFie Maynard{{London Gazette |date=22 July 2024 |issue=64465 |page=14086}} (born February 1971) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Witney since 2024. A member of the Liberal Democrats, he gained the seat from Robert Courts, a member of the Conservative Party. Maynard has been a member of West Oxfordshire District Council since 2022.
Early life and education
Maynard studied geography at Christ Church, Oxford, from 1990 to 1993.{{cite web |date=28 May 2024 |title=Register of Interests: Councillor Charlie Maynard |url=https://meetings.westoxon.gov.uk/mgDeclarationSubmission.aspx?UID=657&HID=73 |publisher=West Oxfordshire District Council |access-date=3 August 2024}}
Career before Parliament
Maynard co-founded BDA Partners, an international investment advice company, in 1996.{{cite web |title=BDA Partners|url=https://www.bdapartners.com/team/charles-maynard/ |website=BDA Partners |access-date=8 July 2024}} He chaired the Witney Oxford Transport Group, which advocates for a railway linking Carterton, Witney, Eynsham and Oxford, from October 2020 to November 2023.
In the 2022 council election, Maynard was elected as a member of West Oxfordshire District Council for the ward of Standlake, Aston and Stanton Harcourt.{{cite web |title=Councillor Charlie Maynard |url=https://meetings.westoxon.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=657 |publisher=West Oxfordshire District Council |access-date=6 July 2024 |language=en}} He served as the District Council's Executive Member for Planning and Sustainable Development from November 2023 until standing down in May 2024 to become a Parliamentary candidate for Witney.
Parliamentary career
Maynard was elected as Member of Parliament for Witney in the 2024 general election. He received 41.2 per cent of the vote and a majority of 4,339 over the incumbent Conservative MP Robert Courts, then Solicitor General for England and Wales, who had represented the seat since 2016.{{cite news |title=Witney – General election results 2024 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001591 |access-date=6 July 2024 |work=BBC News |language=en}}{{Cite news |title=Witney {{!}} General Election 2024 |url=https://election.news.sky.com/elections/general-election-2024/witney-631 |access-date=5 July 2024 |work=Sky News |language=en}} Maynard became the first non-Conservative MP for Witney since 1922.{{Cite news |last=Robinson |first=Adele |date=6 July 2024 |title=In the former Tory stronghold of Witney, it is all too clear why loyal supporters shunned the party |url=https://news.sky.com/story/in-the-former-tory-stronghold-of-witney-it-is-all-too-clear-why-loyal-supporters-shunned-the-party-13174366 |work=Sky News |access-date=3 August 2024 |language=en}}
On 18 February 2025, Maynard participated on behalf of Thames Water customers at a high court hearing, arguing against the approval for an emergency debt package worth up to £3bn.{{cite news|url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/24905723.oxfordshire-mps-barristers-slam-thames-water-bailout/|title=Oxfordshire MP's barristers slam Thames Water bailout|last=Norris|first=Miranda|date=3 February 2025|work=Oxford Mail|accessdate=15 April 2025}} When the judge ruled in favour of Thames Water, Maynard also led an appeal against the decision,{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/business/mp-says-he-intends-to-appeal-against-approval-of-thames-water-restructure-plans-b2700062.html|title=MP says he intends to appeal against approval of Thames Water restructure plans|last=Parke|first=Callum|date=18 February 2025|work=The Independent|accessdate=15 April 2025}} and appeared at the Court of Appeal hearing on 11 March 2025, acting on behalf of over 25 MPs, 34 charities and several individual Thames Water customers to argue the judge had been wrong to sanction the bail-out.{{cite news|url=https://www.thelawyer.com/thames-waters-3bn-appeal-to-be-heard-next-month/|title= Thames Water’s £3bn appeal to be heard next month |last=Smith|first=Christian|date=21 February 2025|work=The Lawyer|accessdate=15 April 2025}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bicesteradvertiser.net/news/25005025.oxfordshire-mp-challenges-thames-water-3-billion-bailout/|title=Oxfordshire MP challenges Thames Water £3bn bailout|last=Kenney|first=Esme|date=13 March 2025|work=Bicester Advertiser|accessdate=15 April 2025}}
Personal life
Maynard and his wife Sophie have hosted refugees from Ukraine and Syria at their home near Witney.{{cite web |title=About Charlie |url=https://www.charliemaynard.org/ |publisher=Charlie Maynard |access-date=6 July 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Official website|https://www.charliemaynard.org/}}
- {{UK MP links
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{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=Robert Courts}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament
for Witney|years=2024–present}}
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{{Current UK Liberal Democrat MPs}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maynard, Charlie}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:20th-century English businesspeople
Category:21st-century English businesspeople
Category:Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Category:Councillors in Oxfordshire
Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors
Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Category:UK councillors 2022–2026
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