Richard John Holden (born 11 March 1985) is a British politician who has served as the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
North West Durham
North West Durham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 12 December 2019 by Richard Holden of the Conservative Party.
Constituency profile
The constituency is in the north west of County Durham ...
since the
2019 general election.
He is the first
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
MP in the constituency's history. Prior to becoming an MP, Holden had worked as a
special adviser in a number of government departments. He has served as
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Roads and Local Transport since October 2022.
Early life and career
Holden was born in
Blackburn
Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, to Mark and Joan Holden.
He grew up in
Grindleton
Grindleton is a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of the English county of Lancashire, formerly in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Its 3,700 acres sit within the Forest of Bowland. The population of the civil ward taken at the ...
, a village in the
Ribble Valley
Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The total population of the non-metropolitan district at the 2011 Census was 57,132. Its council is based in Clitheroe. ...
area. Holden attended Grindleton Primary School,
Ermysted's Grammar School
Ermysted's Grammar School is an 11-18 boys voluntary aided grammar school in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. It was founded by Peter Toller in the 15th century and is the seventh oldest state school in Britain. The first official record of t ...
in
Skipton
Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...
and
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Blackburn.
He then went to St Mary's College in the town, before studying at the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
. He graduated with a BSc in Government and History in 2007.
Holden was employed as a waiter and bar staff for Emporium Ltd from 2002 to 2006.
Holden started work at
Conservative Campaign Headquarters
The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and manag ...
(CCHQ) in August 2007, initially as a Data Entry Officer. The following year, he became a Media Monitoring Officer, and was a Duty Press Officer from 2008 to 2010.
Holden was Political Press Advisor from 2010 to 2012, and promoted to Deputy Head of Press in 2012.
At the
2015 general election he stood unsuccessfully as a Conservative candidate in the
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
held seat of
Preston.
After the election, he became a
special adviser to
Lord Privy Seal
The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...
and
Leader of the House of Lords
The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the majority party in the House of Lords who acts as ...
Baroness Stowell of Beeston, before leaving to work for
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
's
2016 Conservative Party leadership election campaign. He also worked for Stowell's successor as Leader of the House of Lords,
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park, before becoming a special adviser to the
Secretary of State for Defence
The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...
,
Sir Michael Fallon, between October 2016 and April 2017.
In May 2018 Holden was acquitted of sexual assault at Southwark Crown Court. The judge said that he left court without a stain on his character.
Holden became a special adviser to former
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent i ...
Chris Grayling
Christopher Stephen Grayling (born 1 April 1962) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician and author who served as Secretary of State for Transport from 2016 to 2019. He has served as Member of Parliament (United King ...
in December 2018, before leaving to work on
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
's
2019 Conservative Party leadership election
The 2019 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered when Theresa May announced on 24 May 2019 that she would resign as leader of the Conservative Party on 7 June and as prime minister of the United Kingdom once a successor had been el ...
campaign. He then worked as a special adviser to
Secretary of State for Education
The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. ...
Gavin Williamson
Sir Gavin Alexander Williamson (born 25 June 1976) is a British politician who most recently served as Minister of State without Portfolio from 25 October to 8 November 2022. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Staffordshire s ...
from August to November 2019.
When Parliament was dissolved for the election, Holden began working for CCHQ, before being selected as a
PPC
PPC may refer to:
Computing
* Personal programmable calculator, programmable calculators for personal use
* Pay-per-click, an internet advertising model
* PearPC, a PowerPC platform emulator
* Peercoin, a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency
* Periphera ...
for the Labour-held seat of
North West Durham
North West Durham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 12 December 2019 by Richard Holden of the Conservative Party.
Constituency profile
The constituency is in the north west of County Durham ...
.
Parliamentary career
Holden was elected as the MP for
North West Durham
North West Durham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 12 December 2019 by Richard Holden of the Conservative Party.
Constituency profile
The constituency is in the north west of County Durham ...
at the 2019 general election with a majority of 1,144 votes. He is the first Conservative to represent the constituency.
[ It had previously been considered a safe Labour seat as it had been represented by a member of that party ever since its re-establishment in 1950.
Holden was a member of the Public Accounts Committee between March 2020 and March 2022. Since he became an MP he has written a fortnightly column for the political blog ]ConservativeHome
ConservativeHome is a British right-wing blog which supports, but is independent of, the Conservative Party. It was first established by Tim Montgomerie in 2005 with the aim of arguing for a broad conservative spectrum, which is serious about bot ...
. Holden was elected to the Executive of the 1922 Committee in July 2021. He is on the committee of the All-Party Parliamentary Group
An all-party parliamentary group (APPG) is a grouping in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that is composed of members of parliament from all political parties, but have no official status within Parliament.
Description and functions
All-party ...
on Gambling-Related Harm, and has spoken and written extensively about his view that there must be tighter regulation of online gambling.
He led a campaign to reverse the increase in Vehicle Excise Duty Vehicle Excise Duty (VED; also known as "vehicle tax", "car tax", and more controversially as "road tax", and formerly as a "tax disc") is an annual tax that is levied as an excise duty and which must be paid for most types of powered vehicles which ...
(VED) paid on new motorhomes. The tax had been increased in September 2019 in response to EU regulation 2018/1832. In the March 2020 Budget the Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
, Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...
, announced that the VED increase would be reversed, a tax cut worth £25 million a year to consumers and the industry.
In March 2021 Holden led a group of 80 Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
MPs in writing to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
asking him to introduce a new lower duty for beer sold on draught in pubs. He continued his campaign alongside fellow Conservative MP Mike Wood in meetings with Treasury
A treasury is either
*A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry.
*A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...
Ministers, and in October 2021 he gathered more than 100 Conservative MPs to push the issues ahead of the 2021 Budget. In the 2021 Budget the government announced a new Draught Beer Duty rate for pubs and clubs 5 per cent lower than standard beer duty, cutting the tax on beer and cider sold in pubs by £100 million a year. Rishi Sunak credited both Holden and Wood for campaigning on the issue in his Budget Speech.
On 22 April 2022 Holden called for Durham Constabulary
Durham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing ceremonial county of County Durham in North East England. The force’s area is bordered by Cumbria Constabulary to the west, Cleveland Police to the south east, North ...
to investigate Keir Starmer
Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras ...
, the Leader of the Labour Party, for allegedly breaking COVID-19 regulations by attending a staff gathering during an election campaign that month. Durham Constabulary announced an investigation into the event on 6 May 2022. On 8 July 2022, Durham Constabulary announced that they would not be issuing any fixed penalty notice
In the United Kingdom, a fixed penalty notice (FPN) is a notice giving an individual the opportunity to be made immune from prosecution for an alleged criminal offence in exchange for a fee. Fixed penalty notices were introduced in Britain in the ...
s for the event as there was "no case to answer" citing the "reasonably necessary work" exception in the regulations.
Holden endorsed Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...
in the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election
The July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Boris Johnson's announcement on 7 July 2022 that he would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party after a series of political controversies. The leadership ele ...
.
Personal life
He is a member of the Carlton Club
The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only.
History
The ...
in London and the Steel Club in Consett
Consett is a town in County Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in 2019.
History
Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. Its' name originates in the ...
. In May 2021 Holden was fined £100 for dropping a cigarette outside an election count venue during the 2021 local elections. He had previously urged constituents not to be "litter tossers".
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holden, Richard
1985 births
Living people
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 2019–present