Stephen Anthony Christopher Lloyd (born 15 June 1957) is a British
Liberal Democrat politician who was twice
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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...
(MP) for the seat of
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
.
Born in
Kenya
)
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, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
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, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
, he was privately educated in
Surrey, before working first as a commodity broker and then in business development roles. He became resident in his constituency before (and remained so since) his 2005 candidature and became its
MP, a predominantly single-town seat by population, at various times from 2010.
First elected in the
2010 general election, he served for all five years of the 2010–2015 UK parliament and supported the
Cameron–Clegg coalition
The Cameron–Clegg coalition was formed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg when Cameron was invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new administration, following the resignation of Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010, after the ge ...
. Having lost his seat to the
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 in ...
candidate
Caroline Ansell
Caroline Julie Porte Ansell (born 12 January 1971) is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastbourne since the 2019 general election. She was first elected as Eastbourne's MP at ...
in the
2015 general election, Lloyd went on to regain it in
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
and served as the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for
Work and Pensions.
[Liberal Democrats](_blank)
/ref>
On 6 December 2018, Lloyd resigned the Liberal Democrat whip, saying that his party's position on Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAE ...
was inconsistent with his pledge to his constituency that he would "respect the result" of the 2016 EU referendum
The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...
. Until 29 October 2019, Lloyd sat in the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
as an Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independe ...
, remaining a member of the Liberal Democrat party, but had the whip restored following the announcement of the general election, and the 'clean-slate' opportunity to be on the ballot paper as a committed remainer. He was again defeated by Caroline Ansell at the 2019 general election.
Early life and career
Lloyd was born on 15 June 1957 in the coastal city of Mombasa
Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
, Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
, to John Lloyd and Nuala Lloyd. He was educated in the UK from the age of eight at the independent St. George's College, Weybridge
St George's Weybridge is an independent mixed Roman Catholic co-educational Josephite day school in Surrey, taking pupils from 3 to 18. St George's Weybridge is made up of St George's Junior School (3–11) and St George's College (11–18). ...
in Surrey.["The Class of 2010" (Weber Shandwick/Total Politics guide), Biteback Publishing, 2010, p. 175-6.]
Lloyd is hearing-impaired. At the age of six, having contracted measles, Lloyd lost all hearing in his left ear, retaining only partial hearing in his right.
Prior to becoming an MP, Lloyd worked in business for over 20 years. From 1977 to 1980, he worked as a commodity broker for Cominco. From 1998 to 2005, he was a business development director at the Grass Roots Group. From 2005 to 2010, Lloyd worked for the Federation of Small Businesses
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is a UK business organisation representing small and medium-sized businesses. It was formed in 1974 as the National Federation of Self Employed (NFSE). The current name for the organisation was adopted in ...
as a business development consultant.
Political career
Early candidacy
Lloyd first contested the Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...
constituency, in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...
at the 2001 general election. He came in third place behind the Labour candidate Stephen Lathrope and the victor, Dominic Grieve
Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve (born 24 May 1956) is a British barrister and former politician who served as Shadow Home Secretary from 2008 to 2009 and Attorney General for England and Wales from 2010 to 2014. He served as the Member of Parl ...
of the Conservatives
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 ...
. Lloyd received 9,117 votes and a 21.6% share of the vote.
In 2002, Lloyd was selected by the Liberal Democrats to be their next candidate for the constituency of Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
in East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...
. Viewed as a high target seat for the party, selection was competitive and he beat future parliamentary colleagues Duncan Hames and Tessa Munt
Tessa Jane Munt (born 16 October 1959) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She served as the Member of Parliament for Wells in Somerset from 2010–15 and had previously served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Secretary ...
to the final nomination. Lloyd spent the next three years becoming engaged in local causes, in preparation for the next general election. At the 2005 general election, Lloyd lost to the sitting Conservative MP, Nigel Waterson
Nigel Christopher Waterson (born 12 October 1950) is a British former politician. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Eastbourne from 1992 until 2010. Waterson was a junior minister in the government of John Major. He has been th ...
.
Lloyd continued to campaign locally for various causes, including leading opposition to plans to build a new B&Q megastore in Sovereign Harbour, which was subsequently refused by the planning committee of the Liberal Democrat-controlled Eastbourne Borough Council
Eastbourne Borough Council is the local authority for the borough of Eastbourne in East Sussex.
Eastbourne is divided into 9 local wards, which each elect 3 borough councillors as local representatives, creating a total of 27 councillors.
The B ...
in October 2005.
First term
At the 2010 general election, Lloyd's campaign centred on local issues and highlighting of the expenses claims of his Conservative Party opponent, Nigel Waterson
Nigel Christopher Waterson (born 12 October 1950) is a British former politician. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Eastbourne from 1992 until 2010. Waterson was a junior minister in the government of John Major. He has been th ...
. He also asked to be lent votes by local supporters of the Labour and Green parties. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg
Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British media executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who has been president for global affairs at Meta Platforms since 2022, having previously been vicepre ...
hosted his eve of poll rally, where former Conservative MP Ernle Money, who had moved to Eastbourne, pledged his support to Lloyd. On 7 May, Lloyd was elected the MP for Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
with a majority of 3,435 votes.
Waterson subsequently sued Lloyd for libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...
over the contents of Lloyd's election leaflets, which had called Waterson an "expenses scandal MP". On 9 December 2011, the High Court ruled that Lloyd had defamed Waterson. Lloyd appealed, and on 28 February 2013 the Court of Appeal found in Lloyd's favour, overturning the original judgment.
From 2010 to 2015, Lloyd served as the Liberal Democrats' spokesperson for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...
in the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
. Over the same period, Lloyd served on the Work and Pensions Select Committee
The Work and Pensions Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Work and Pens ...
in the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
. He was thought by the Labour opposition to be wavering about supporting changes to housing benefit presented to the committee, but declared that he supported the "direction of travel" of the government. He campaigned for concessions from the Department for Work and Pensions
, type = Department
, seal =
, logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg
, logo_width = 166px
, formed =
, preceding1 =
, jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom
, headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...
in relation to Personal Independence Payment
Personal Independence Payment (abbreviated to PIP and usually pronounced as one word) is a welfare benefit in the United Kingdom that is intended to help working age adults with the extra costs of living with a health condition or a disability.
...
descriptors to ensure that people with reduced mobility would still be entitled to their Motability
Motability is a charity in the United Kingdom. It oversees Motability Operations Ltd, which runs the Motability Scheme intended to enable disabled people, their families and their carers to lease a new car, scooter or powered wheelchair, usin ...
vehicles.
In 2010, Lloyd lobbied the Government to reconsider its planned reforms to student visa regulations, which threatened the future of English language schools, arguing it was "nonsensical" to require overseas students to speak the language before they came to study it.
Throughout his first term in Parliament, Lloyd served as chair of a number of 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-part ...
s including those for Citizens Advice
Citizens AdviceCitizens Advice is the operating name of The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux which is the umbrella charity for a wider network of local advice centres. The abbreviation CitA is sometimes used to refer to this nation ...
, microfinance, apprenticeships and further education and skills. He also served as vice chair of the APPGs on deafness, mental health, dementia, ageing and older people, town centre management, multiple sclerosis, trading standards, pharmacy, and justice for Equitable Life policyholders. Additionally, the Federation of Small Businesses
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is a UK business organisation representing small and medium-sized businesses. It was formed in 1974 as the National Federation of Self Employed (NFSE). The current name for the organisation was adopted in ...
and City and Guilds of London Institute
The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...
invited him to be their respective champions in parliament.
Lloyd founded the All Party Parliamentary Group on religious education in schools in 2010. He has led campaigns to improve, encourage and support RE teaching of the world's major faiths, and of the non-religious, in schools in England and Wales. The chair of the Religious Education Council praised him in ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...
'' as a "key player" in promoting the importance of effective RE teaching in schools.
From January to December 2014, Lloyd served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change was a British government cabinet position from 2008 to 2016. The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008 when then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown ...
Ed Davey
Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2012 ...
. Lloyd resigned this position in December 2014 over his "profound disappointment" that the Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The ...
's new road investment strategy did not meet the demands of a local campaign to properly improve the A27 road
The A27 is a major road in England. It runs from its junction with the A36 at Whiteparish (near Salisbury) in the county of Wiltshire, follows the south coast of Hampshire and West Sussex, and terminates at Pevensey (near Eastbourne and Be ...
.
Lloyd rarely rebelled against the coalition government on any parliamentary matter. Notable exceptions included his vote against tuition fee increases, which he later said the party "should have died in a ditch" to defend their position on.[ Lloyd has argued that by entering the 2010–15 coalition government, the Liberal Democrats "saved the country" but "killed themselves".][
]
Defeat
Lloyd lost his seat at the 2015 general election to the Conservative Party candidate, Caroline Ansell
Caroline Julie Porte Ansell (born 12 January 1971) is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastbourne since the 2019 general election. She was first elected as Eastbourne's MP at ...
, who won by 733 votes. The election resulted in a victory for the Conservatives, and the formation of the first Conservative majority government in 23 years. Later that month, Lloyd announced he would retire from politics. A resident-led fundraising campaign formed within days of Lloyd's defeat, with the aim of supporting him to contest the next general election. Lloyd refused the donations and urged that they were instead directed to Save the DGH, the local group campaign to restore services at Eastbourne District General Hospital.[ He then took a job as business development director for West End Studios, an event and exhibition company based in Eastbourne.
In July 2016, Lloyd announced that he would seek selection as the Liberal Democrat candidate at the next general election. He attributed his change of mind to a petition created by local supporters two months before, which had asked him to stand again.]
Return to Parliament
Lloyd stood at the snap general election in 2017 and won, beating the same Conservative MP who had unseated him in 2015, Caroline Ansell, by 1,609 votes. Lloyd was selected under an all-disabled shortlist, the first time any political party had restricted its selection to disabled people. In June 2017, Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron
Timothy James Farron (born 27 May 1970) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2015 to 2017. He has also served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005, before which he worked in ...
appointed Lloyd as the party's frontbench spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions
, type = Department
, seal =
, logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg
, logo_width = 166px
, formed =
, preceding1 =
, jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom
, headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...
. Lloyd was reappointed to this position after Sir Vince Cable was elected as Leader of the Liberal Democrats in October 2017.[ In January 2018, Lloyd sponsored a parliamentary debate on Universal Credit's impact on the private rented sector.
]
Local causes and campaigns
As well as advocating improvements to the A27, Lloyd has campaigned to retain services at the Eastbourne District General Hospital, against cuts to school budgets, and against cuts to adult social care services. Lloyd organised for hundreds of presents to be delivered to the elderly and vulnerable who were in hospital without any visitors over the 2017 Christmas period. The campaign generated a surplus of donated presents. These were delivered to elderly patients in the community over the festive period.
In 2010, Lloyd created an "MP's Commission", composed of local business and community leaders in his Eastbourne constituency. Its initiatives included: bringing back the Eastbourne 'Sunshine' Carnival; and organising a procurement conference to encourage further economic cooperation between the private sector and major public sector bodies in the town. In 2011, Lloyd developed a successful local apprenticeship initiative, aiming to recruit 100 apprenticeships in 100 days in Eastbourne. The initiative ultimately created 181 apprenticeships and received praise from then-Prime Minister David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
. In 2014, Lloyd was awarded the Grassroot Diplomat
Grassroot Diplomat is a global non-profit, non-political, diplomatic consultancy established in 2013. The consultancy specialises in digital diplomacy and public diplomacy working with foreign governments and citizen diplomats to help build posit ...
Initiative Honouree for this work. During the same year, Lloyd was also associated with lobbying for additional funds for local housing projects and supporting negotiations over the regeneration of Eastbourne's Arndale shopping centre.
In 2014, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'' reported that Lloyd's "toil has yielded high levels of recognition and support, some of it close to admiration." Christina Patterson in ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...
'' remarked that "a political system that can produce elected representatives like this may well be as good as it gets."
In 2015, Lloyd supported appeals made by the parents of a five-year-old girl who died in his constituency, when the child's grandparents were denied visas to enter the UK to attend her funeral. He offered to personally guarantee their return to Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
.
Lloyd successfully campaigned for an inquiry into patient deaths at Gosport War Memorial Hospital, having "long supported the case" for an independent investigation. On 20 June 2018, the Gosport Independent Panel published a report finding that "there was a disregard for human life" at the hospital and that "456 patients died where medication – opioids – had been prescribed and administered without appropriate clinical justification". In response, Lloyd called for a criminal investigation into the deaths at Gosport.
Views
Economy
Lloyd has described himself as a “business-wing” liberal, in favour of light-touch regulation except in the case of investment banking
Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with ...
. He is in favour of promoting apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
s as a viable career development
Career Development or Career Development Planning refers to the process an individual may undergo to evolve their occupational status. It is the process of making decisions for long term learning, to align personal needs of physical or psychologica ...
alternative to university, suggesting the creation of a 'Royal Society of Apprentices' to improve the low perception of apprenticeships.
Welfare reform
Writing in a 2013 publication for the Liberal Democrat group Liberal Reform
Liberal Reform is a group of members of the British Liberal Democrats. Membership of the group is open to any Liberal Democrat party member, and is free of charge. It was launched on 13 February 2012, and describes itself as a broadly centrist g ...
, Lloyd criticised both the left and the right for their attitudes to welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
, accusing the right of "boneheaded vituperation" and the left of "complacency" and of being patronising. He considers the Work Programme
The Work Programme (WP) was a UK government welfare-to-work programme introduced in Great Britain in June 2011. It was the flagship welfare-to-work scheme of the 2010–2015 UK coalition government. Under the Work Programme the task of getting th ...
workfare
Workfare is a governmental plan under which welfare recipients are required to accept public-service jobs or to participate in job training. Many countries around the world have adopted workfare (sometimes implemented as "work-first" policies) to ...
scheme and Universal Credit
Universal Credit is a United Kingdom social security payment. It is means-tested and is replacing and combining six benefits for working-age households with a low income: income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeke ...
introduced by the coalition government to be the liberal solution for unemployment. Although he was publicly supportive of welfare reforms, he repeatedly warned Employment Minister Chris Grayling
Christopher Stephen Grayling (born 1 April 1962) is a British Conservative Party politician and author who served as Secretary of State for Transport from 2016 to 2019. He has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Epsom and Ewell since 2001 ...
against the use of negative language to describe the unemployed.
European Union
Lloyd voted to remain in the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
in referendum on the United Kingdom's membership. He said that he would "respect the result" and would oppose a further referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union, contrary to his party's policy. A majority of voters (57%) in Lloyd's Eastbourne constituency voted to leave the European Union.
On 6 December 2018, Lloyd resigned the Liberal Democrat whip in Parliament over Brexit. In his resignation letter to Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Alistair Carmichael
Alexander Morrison "Alistair" CarmichaelFull name is given as "CARMICHAEL, Alexander Morrison, commonly known as Alistair Carmichael" in the returning officer'2010 general election declaration (born 15 July 1965) is a Scottish politician and s ...
, Lloyd said " ough I fought as a Remainer during the referendum...I also made a clear promise to my constituency...that I would accept the result, support the deal the PM brought back from the EU and not back calls for a second referendum...I will be keeping my word to my town...Consequently, I have decided the only honourable thing for me to do is to resign the party whip in Parliament.
Lloyd subsequently reaffirmed his commitment to remaining in the European Union on announcement of the UK general election 2019.
References
External links
Official website
Eastbourne and Willingdon Liberal Democrats
Stephen Lloyd MP, Grassroot Diplomat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Stephen
1957 births
Living people
People educated at St George's College, Weybridge
Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies
People from Mombasa
Politics of Eastbourne
Deaf politicians
UK MPs 2010–2015
UK MPs 2017–2019
Deaf people from England
British politicians with disabilities
Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom