David Rendel
{{Short description|British politician (1949–2016)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix =
|name = David Rendel
|honorific-suffix =
|image = David Rendel - Newbury declaration.jpg
|imagesize = 200px
|alt =
|caption = David Rendel at the Newbury declaration for the 2005 election
|office = Member of Parliament
for Newbury
|parliament =
|majority =
|term_start = 6 May 1993
|term_end = 11 April 2005
|predecessor = Judith Chaplin
|successor = Richard Benyon
|birth_date = {{birth date|1949|04|15|df=yes}}
|birth_place = Athens, Greece
|death_date = {{Death date and age|2016|05|16|1949|04|15|df=yes}}
|death_place = Berkshire, England
|restingplace =
|birthname =
|nationality = British
|party = Liberal Democrats
|otherparty =
|spouse =
|relations =
|children =
|residence =
|alma_mater = Magdalen College, Oxford, St Cross College, Oxford
|occupation =
|profession =
|cabinet =
|committees =
|portfolio =
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|signature =
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}}
David Digby Rendel (15 April 1949 – 16 May 2016) 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.
Early life
Rendel was born in Athens.{{cite news|url= http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/home/18142/Former-MP-for-Newbury-David-Rendel.html|title= Former MP for Newbury David Rendel dies|work=Newbury Today |date= 17 May 2016|accessdate= 17 May 2016 | location=Newbury, Berkshire | first=John | last=Herring}} He was educated at Eton College, Magdalen College, Oxford, and St Cross College, Oxford, Rendel was a member of the winning Oxford boat race crew of 1974. After a gap year volunteering in Africa, he worked in the finance department of Shell Oil Company.
His father Sandy Rendel was a SOE agent and foreign correspondent for The Times, and he was a great-grandson of civil engineer Sir Alexander Meadows Rendel, and a great-great-nephew of Liberal MP Stuart Rendel.
Political career
Rendel fought and lost two elections in 1979 and 1983 at Fulham, before moving to Newbury in 1986, when his wife started work as a GP.
He became a Newbury District Councillor from 1987 to 1995, and fought the Newbury seat unsuccessfully in the 1992 general election, gaining 37% of the votes.
He won the 1993 Newbury by-election with a large majority of 22,055, receiving 65% of the votes. He first came to national attention for supporting the Newbury bypass, and in 1999 stood in the election for the leadership of the Liberal Democrats, but came fifth of five candidates, with Charles Kennedy being elected.
Rendel held on to his seat in 1997 and 2001 with reduced majorities, but at the 2005 election he was defeated by the Conservative candidate, Richard Benyon.
In May 2006, Rendel was selected by local party members as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Newbury seat for the next election. At the general election in May 2010, he was again defeated by the sitting Conservative, Richard Benyon, whose majority grew to 21%.
Rendel was a directly elected member of the Liberal Democrats’ Federal Executive until 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.libdems.org.uk/party_organisations_detail.aspx?title=Federal_Executive&pPK=8dae9f78-9643-4cbd-a41e-1d3e37521826|title=Federal Executive|publisher=Liberal Democrats|accessdate=2010-05-12|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523102231/http://www.libdems.org.uk/party_organisations_detail.aspx?title=Federal_Executive&pPK=8dae9f78-9643-4cbd-a41e-1d3e37521826|archivedate=2010-05-23}} After the election of 2010, Rendel was the only member on the Federal Executive to vote against the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement.{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/may/11/coalition-government-conservatives-lib-dem|title= David Cameron sacrifices inheritance tax policy to win Liberal Democrat deal|work=The Guardian |date= 11 May 2010|accessdate= 12 May 2010 | location=London | first=Nicholas | last=Watt}}
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.
Death
Legacy
Lee Dillon, describes Rendel as his political inspiration, complimenting his passion for the constituency.{{Cite web |title=Lee Dillon selected to fight Newbury constituency for Liberal Democrats at next election |url=https://www.wbld.org.uk/news/article/lee-dillon-selected |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=www.wbld.org.uk |language=en-gb}} In 2024, Dillon won the Newbury constituency for the Liberal Democrats for the first time since Rendel's defeat in 2005.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060111191637/http://www.libdems.org.uk/party/people/mr-david-rendel.html David Rendel] profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
- [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-4382,00.html Guardian Politics Ask Aristotle – David Rendel]
- [https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/david_rendel/newbury TheyWorkForYou.com – David Rendel]
- [http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=David_Rendel&mpc=Newbury The Public Whip – David Rendel] voting record
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/300.stm BBC News – David Rendel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213174132/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/300.stm |date=13 February 2009 }} profile 10 February 2005
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=Judith Chaplin}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for Newbury|years=1993–2005}}
{{s-aft|after=Richard Benyon}}
{{s-end}}
{{1999 Liberal Democrats leadership election}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rendel, David}}
Category:Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
Category:Alumni of St Cross College, Oxford
Category:Councillors in Berkshire
Category:Deaths from cancer in England
Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors
Category:Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates