Richard Stuart Best, Baron Best, (born 22 June 1945) is a British social housing leader and member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

Biography

The son of late Walter Best DL and Frances Chignell, Best was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...

and the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

. He married Ima Akpan in 1970, divorcing in 1976, then Belinda Stemp in 1978. He had two daughters and two sons with his two wives. From 1970 to 1973, Best served as Director of the British Churches Housing Trust, then of the

National Federation of Housing Associations The National Housing Federation (NHF) is a trade association for member social housing providers in England. Function The National Housing Federation (NHF) is a trade or industry body representing providers of social housing in England. The Fede ...

1973–88. From 1988 to December 2006, he led the

Joseph Rowntree Foundation The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is a charity that conducts and funds research aimed at solving poverty in the UK. JRF's stated aim is to "inspire action and change that will create a prosperous UK without poverty." Originally called the ...

and Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust. He has written extensively on housing and been involved with commissions on housing for Northern Ireland,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

. Best is a member of the House of Lords EU Home Affairs Committee. He is also Chair of The Property Ombudsman and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People and served as Chair of the Hanover Housing Association 2006–2015. He was President of the Local Government Association 2007–2016, Commissioner of the Rural Development Commission 1989–98, Trustee and Treasurer of the Royal Society of Arts 2007–14, a member of the

NCVO The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England. It is a registered charity (no 225922). NCVO works to support the voluntary and community sector and to create an ...

Advisory Council 2008–2016. On 4 June 2001, Best was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Best, of

Godmanstone Godmanstone (or Godmanston) is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, situated approximately north of the county town Dorchester. Its name means ''Godman's Farm'' and it is sited by the River Cerne amongst chal ...

in the

County of Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , Do ...

. He sits as an independent

crossbencher A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

in the House of Lords.

Honours

He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

1988 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1988 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

. He has been awarded honorary degrees from the Universities of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

. In September 2014, he was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the RIBA. He is a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of North Yorkshire.North Yorkshire County Council
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References

External links

Lord Best
House of Lords {{DEFAULTSORT:Best, Richard, Baron 1945 births Living people Crossbench life peers People's peers Public housing in the United Kingdom Alumni of the University of Nottingham People educated at Shrewsbury School Officers of the Order of the British Empire Deputy Lieutenants of North Yorkshire British charity and campaign group workers Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences Life peers created by Elizabeth II