Richard Stuart Best, Baron Best, (born 22 June 1945) is an independent Crossbench Member of the House of Lords with a special interest in housing issues.

Biography

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

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

and the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

. He married Ima Akpan in 1970, divorcing in 1976. Best married Belinda Stemp in 1978 and has two daughters and two sons with his two wives. One of his sons,

Will Best William Trevorian Stuart Best (born 21 February 1985) is an English television presenter and entrepreneur. Best has presented numerous shows for Channel 4, ITV and the BBC including T4 on the Beach and '' Dance Dance Dance''. He has also written ...

, is a television presenter. From 1970 to 1973, Best served as director of the British Churches Housing Trust, then of the National Federation of Housing Associations 1973–1988. 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 J ...

and Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust. He has written extensively on housing and chaired commissions on housing for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, Brent,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

. Best is a member of the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee, and has previously chaired the House of Lords Audit Committee between 2005 and 2010 and the Select Committee on Communications between 2014 and 2017. Lord Best has previously sat on the Built Environment Committee, EU Home Affairs Committee and the Economic Affairs Committee. He is also president of the Sustainable Energy Association and co-chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People. Lord Best served as chair of the Hanover Housing Association 2006–2015, and chaired

The Property Ombudsman The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme is an ombudsman in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast ...

between 2009 and 2017. He was president of the

Local Government Association The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local government in England, local authorities in England and Wales. Its core membership is made up of 317 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the ...

2007–2016, Commissioner of the Rural Development Commission 1989–1998, trustee and treasurer of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

2007–2014, and a member of the

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

Advisory Council 2008–2016. Lord Best has also chaired the

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

Commission on Creating Healthy Cities (2022), the Affordable Housing Commission (2020) and the Devon Housing Commission (2024). 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Best, of Godmanstone in the County of Dorset. He sits as an independent

crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...

in the House of Lords.

Honours

Best 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two 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 in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

. In September 2014, he was elected a

Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences The Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) is an award granted by the Academy of Social Sciences to leading academics, policy-makers, and practitioners of the social sciences. Fellows were previously known as Academicians and used t ...

. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the

RIBA ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130

. He is a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of North Yorkshire.

References

External links

Lord Best
House of Lords {{DEFAULTSORT:Best, Richard, Baron 1945 births Living people Crossbench life peers Peers recommended by the House of Lords Appointments Commission 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