Martin Horwood

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Martin Horwood

| honorific-suffix =

| image = Martin Horwood Glasgow 2014.jpg

| imagesize = 220px

| caption = Martin Horwood in 2014

| office = Member of the European Parliament
for South West England

| term_start = 2 July 2019

| term_end = 31 January 2020

| predecessor = Clare Moody

| successor = Constituency abolished

| office1 = Member of Parliament
for Cheltenham

| term_start1 = 5 May 2005

| term_end1 = 30 March 2015

| majority1 =

| predecessor1 = Nigel Jones

| successor1 = Alex Chalk

| birth_name = Martin Charles Horwood

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1962|10|12}}

| birth_place = Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = British

| party = Liberal Democrats

| spouse = {{marriage|Shona Arora|1995}}

| relations =

| children = 2

| parents =

| residence =

| alma_mater = The Queen's College, Oxford

| occupation =

| profession =

| religion =

| signature =

| website =

| footnotes =

}}

Martin Charles Horwood (born 12 October 1962) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who represented South West England in the European Parliament from 2019 to 2020. He previously served as the Member of Parliament for Cheltenham from 2005 to 2015.

During his tenure, he founded the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tribal Peoples. Horwood is now director of engagement and impact at Development Initiatives.

Early life and education

File:Cheltenham College Chapel.jpg

Horwood was born in St. Paul's, Cheltenham. His parents lived first in St. Mark's and then in Leckhampton, where his mother still lives.{{cite web |title=Matin Horwood |url=https://www.politics.co.uk/reference/martin-charles-horwood |publisher=politics.co.uk |accessdate=15 July 2020 |archive-date=14 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914062055/http://www.politics.co.uk/reference/martin-charles-horwood |url-status=live }}

He attended two independent schools in Cheltenham, Pate's Junior School and Cheltenham College.{{cite news |title=Alumni |url=http://www.richardpate.co.uk/pages/alumni.htm |accessdate=20 May 2019 |publisher=The Richard Pate School |archive-date=16 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616100351/http://www.richardpate.co.uk/pages/alumni.htm |url-status=live }} At the latter, he was a contemporary of fellow MP Chris Bryant and sat next to him in English classes.{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Tim |title=Chris Bryant in a schoolboy spat with Martin Horwood |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10412322/Chris-Bryant-in-a-schoolboy-spat-with-Martin-Horwood.html |work=The Telegraph |date=30 October 2013 |access-date=20 May 2019 |archive-date=18 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218163146/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10412322/Chris-Bryant-in-a-schoolboy-spat-with-Martin-Horwood.html |url-status=live }} He joined the Cheltenham Young Liberals in 1979 while still at school.

In 1981, he went on to read Modern History at The Queen's College, Oxford, and was elected president of the Oxford Student Liberal Society and then chair of the party's national student wing, the Union of Liberal Students.{{cite web |title=Martin Horwood |url=https://humanism.org.uk/about/our-people/patrons/martin-horwood/ |publisher=Humanists UK |accessdate=15 July 2020 |archive-date=24 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124222458/https://humanism.org.uk/about/our-people/patrons/martin-horwood/ |url-status=live }}

Parliamentary career

File:Martin Horwood MP at PFRA reception.jpg

Horwood stood twice unsuccessfully before gaining election. In 1992, he was defeated by Labour's Andrew Smith in the seat of Oxford East, he came third with 13% share of the vote. In 2001, he came third in Cities of London and Westminster, with 15.4% share of the vote.

Horwood was adopted as parliamentary candidate for Cheltenham following the decision by sitting Liberal Democrat MP Nigel Jones to stand down. Horwood was elected at the 2005 general election, winning the seat with a majority of 2,303 over the Conservatives, although the Liberal Democrats' share of the vote fell by 6.2%.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/html/138.stm|title=Election 2005 – Results – Cheltenham|work=BBC News|access-date=6 July 2009|archive-date=16 May 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060516123906/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/html/138.stm|url-status=live}}

He was appointed by his party to the select committee scrutinising the work of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister – now the Department for Communities and Local Government.{{Cite web|url=http://www.libdems.org.uk/www.libdems.org.uk/people/martin-horwood.html|title=Biography on Liberal Democrat party website|access-date=6 July 2009|archive-date=29 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629082133/http://www.libdems.org.uk/www.libdems.org.uk/people/martin-horwood.html|url-status=live}}

In July 2005, then party leader Charles Kennedy appointed Horwood to the Shadow Home Affairs team, before he was promoted by Menzies Campbell to be Shadow Environment Minister, under Chris Huhne, whom Horwood had backed in the party's leadership election.

Horwood was the chairman and founder of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tribal Peoples. Created in 2007, the APPG for Tribal Peoples is composed of over 30 cross-party MPs and peers with the aim of raising parliamentary and public awareness of tribal peoples. Its secretariat is the international indigenous rights organisation, Survival International. The Group meets two or three times a year and one of its main objectives is to press for ratification of ILO Convention 169 on the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples.[http://www.appg-tribalpeoples.org.uk/ All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tribal Peoples website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429160752/http://www.appg-tribalpeoples.org.uk/ |date=29 April 2011 }}

Horwood was also the Secretary of the APPG on corporate responsibility.{{cite web |title=Martin Horwood |url=https://humanism.org.uk/about/our-people/patrons/martin-horwood/ |publisher=Humanists UK |access-date=2 May 2021 |archive-date=24 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124222458/https://humanism.org.uk/about/our-people/patrons/martin-horwood/ |url-status=live }}

In March 2009, Horwood was one of several MPs used as examples by the BBC looking at the reliability of Wikipedia. He urged Wikipedia to crack down upon abuses of the open editing facility and "acts of political vandalism".{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7921985.stm|title=UK politicians' Wikipedia worries|date=6 March 2009|work=BBC News|access-date=7 March 2009|archive-date=7 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090307214359/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7921985.stm|url-status=live}}

In December 2010, Horwood attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancún, Mexico with fellow Liberal Democrat, then Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-11964669|title=Tuition fees: How Liberal Democrat MPs voted|date=9 December 2010|work=BBC News|access-date=11 January 2021|archive-date=26 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126170107/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-11964669|url-status=live}}

Despite having secured over 50% of the vote in the 2010 general election, with a 9.3% swing and a 3,920-vote majority, Horwood lost his seat during the national Liberal Democrat collapse in the 2015 general election, losing to the Conservative candidate Alex Chalk.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/b02.stm|title=Election 2010 {{!}} Constituency {{!}} Cheltenham|website=BBC News|access-date=10 June 2017|archive-date=23 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823064826/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/b02.stm|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000630|title=Cheltenham parliamentary constituency - Election 2017|website=BBC News|access-date=10 June 2017|archive-date=9 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170609164310/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000630|url-status=live}} He unsuccessfully attempted to regain his seat during the 2017 general election, although he reduced Chalk's majority by 7.6%.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000630|title=Cheltenham parliamentary constituency - Election 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=10 June 2017|language=en-GB|archive-date=9 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170609164310/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000630|url-status=live}}

Life after Parliament

Since 2015, Horwood has been director of engagement and impact at Development Initiatives.{{Cite web|url=http://devinit.org/#!/post/martin-horwood-appointed-as-director-of-engagement-and-impact-at-development-initiatives|title=Home|website=Development Initiatives|language=en-US|access-date=2017-04-25|archive-date=18 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218031715/http://devinit.org/#!/post/martin-horwood-appointed-as-director-of-engagement-and-impact-at-development-initiatives|url-status=live}} In 2018 he also won an election to Cheltenham Borough Council, becoming councillor for the Leckhampton ward.{{cite web |title=Councillor Martin Horwood |url=https://democracy.cheltenham.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=1387 |publisher=Cheltenham Borough Council |accessdate=15 July 2020 |archive-date=29 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929192921/https://democracy.cheltenham.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=1387 |url-status=live }}

In the 2019 European Parliament election, Horwood was selected by the Liberal Democrats to contest the six-member constituency of South West England; he was second on the party's list.{{Cite web|url=https://www.libdems.org.uk/candidates-eu-elections|title=Our Candidates for EU Elections|date=17 April 2019|website=Liberal Democrats|language=en|access-date=28 May 2019|archive-date=26 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526190524/https://www.libdems.org.uk/candidates-eu-elections|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/crjeqkdevwvt/the-uks-european-elections-2019|title=The UK's European elections 2019|website=BBC News|language=en-GB|access-date=28 May 2019|archive-date=29 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429002937/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/crjeqkdevwvt/the-uks-european-elections-2019|url-status=live}} The party polled 23.2% in the constituency and Horwood was elected.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/european-elections-2019-live-results-2908374|title=European elections results and reaction updates|last=Norris|first=Phil|last2=Thompson|first2=Phillip|date=27 May 2019|website=gloucestershirelive|access-date=28 May 2019|last3=Port|first3=Samuel|archive-date=27 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527142821/https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/european-elections-2019-live-results-2908374|url-status=live}}

As of February 2021, Horwood was a member of Cheltenham Borough Council.{{cite web |author1=Leigh Boobyer |title=Police confirm two more councillors reported about 'breaching' lockdown rules |url=https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/cheltenham-news/police-confirm-two-more-councillors-4972054 |website=GloucestershireLive |access-date=30 May 2021 |date=5 February 2021}} He is Cabinet Member for Corporate affairs.

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20051025050231/http://www.martinhorwood.org.uk/ Martin Horwood MP] official constituency website
[http://www.libdems.org.uk/people/martin-horwood.html Martin Horwood MP] profile at the Liberal Democrats
[https://web.archive.org/web/20110429160752/http://www.appg-tribalpeoples.org.uk/ APPG for Tribal Peoples]
{{UK MP links | parliament = martin-horwood/1499 | hansard = | hansardcurr = 4795 | guardian = 6614/martin-horwood | publicwhip = Martin_Horwood | theywork = martin_horwood | record = Mark-Williams/Ceredigion/1129 | bbc = 38427.stm | journalisted = }}

{{succession box

| title = Member of Parliament for Cheltenham

| years = 2005–2015

| before = Nigel Jones

| after = Alex Chalk

}}

Category:1962 births

Category:Living people

Category:Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford

Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies

Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) MEPs

Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors