Ian Roome () is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament for

North Devon North Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. North Devon Council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth ...

in the

2024 United Kingdom general election The 2024 United Kingdom general election is scheduled to be held on Thursday, 4 July 2024. It will determine the composition of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, which determines the Government of the United Kingdom. ...

. He previously served for two terms as Mayor of Barnstaple.

Early life and career

Roome was born and raised in Sheffield, attending Chaucer Comprehensive School from 1979 to 1985. After leaving school, Roome joined the Royal Air Force in 1986, serving across the United Kingdom, as well as in Germany at

RAF Laarbruch Royal Air Force , more commonly known as RAF ICAO EDUL (from 1 January 1995 ETUL) was a Royal Air Force station, a military airfield, located in Germany on its border with the Netherlands. The Station's motto was (). The site now operates a ...

. He first came to North Devon in 1989, after being posted to RAF Chivenor. Later, while serving as Mayor of Barnstaple in 2018, he would help to keep RM Chivenor operational, lobbying the Defence Secretary to keep the base open, after it was announced in 2016 that it could be facing potential closure. After leaving the Royal Air Force Roome worked in mental health nursing at

North Devon District Hospital North Devon District Hospital is an NHS district general hospital in the town of Barnstaple, North Devon, England run by Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital has its origins in the North Devon Infirmary est ...

, after which he decided to work as a community mental health worker across North Devon.

Political career

Roome began his political career in 2003, serving as a Councillor for Barnstaple Town Council. During his time as a Barnstaple Town Councillor he held numerous notable positions, such as Mayor of Barnstaple and Chair of the Staff Committee. In 2011, during his tenure as a Barnstaple Town Councillor, he founded and managed a £2.5 million fundraising campaign to build a Chemotherapy and Day Treatment Unit at the

. He also managed an additional £1.5 million capital campaign to build a Cancer and Wellbeing unit at the North Devon District Hospital. Roome was first elected to represent Yeo Valley on the North Devon District Council in May 2015. He was re-elected in May 2019 to represent Barnstaple with Pilton Ward, which he continues to represent today. He is Leader of the Council and Liberal Democrat Group. Roome was elected to represent Barnstaple North on the

Devon County Council Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. Based in the city of Exeter, the council covers the non-metropolitan county area of Devon. Members of the council (councillors) are elected every four years to ...

in May 2021. Alongside this he serves on the Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Authority.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roome, Ian Living people Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 2024–present Politicians from Devon Members of Devon County Council Date of birth missing (living people) Mayors of places in Devon