Robin Teverson, Baron Teverson (born 31 March 1952) is a

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and former

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP).

Career

Teverson was educated at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

. He joined the Liberal Democrats, for which he stood unsuccessfully in

South East Cornwall South East Cornwall is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Anna Gelderd, a Labour politician. Boundaries 1983–2010: The District of Caradon, the Borough of Restormel wards of Fowey, Lost ...

at the

1992 United Kingdom general election The 1992 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 9 April 1992, to elect List of MPs elected in the 1992 United Kingdom general election, 651 members to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The governing Con ...

. At the

1994 European Parliament election The 1994 European Parliamentary election was a European election held across the 12 European Union member states in June 1994. This election saw the merge of the European People's Party and European Democrats, an increase in the overall numbe ...

, Teverson was elected

(MEP) for Cornwall and West Plymouth, becoming one of the first two Liberal Democrats ever elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

along with

Graham Watson Sir Graham Robert Watson (born 23 March 1956) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England from 1994 to 2014. Watson was the chairman of the Parliament's committee on c ...

in Somerset and North Devon. He was Chief Whip of the European Liberal Democrats from 1997 and 1999. In 1999, he was Chairman of Finance South West Ltd. At the

1999 European Parliament election The 1999 European Parliament election was a European election for all 626 members of the European Parliament held across the 15 European Union member states on 10, 11 and 13 June 1999. The voter turn-out was generally low, except in Belgium and ...

, the UK switched from electing MEPs in

first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

constituencies to a form of region-based

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

. Each party put forward a list of candidates, and the higher its vote share, the more seats it would be awarded. Watson and Teverson were both MEPs in the

South West Southwest is a compass point. Southwest, south-west, south west, southwestern or south-western or south western may also refer to: * Southwest (direction), an intercardinal direction Geography *South West Queensland, Australia *South West (Weste ...

region, and the Liberal Democrats placed Watson in first position on its list and Teverson in second position. At the election, the Liberal Democrats polled 16.5% of the vote in the South West, entitling them to just one of the region's seven seats. Thus Watson was elected, but Teverson lost his seat. On 1 June 2006, he 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 Teverson, of

Tregony Tregony (), sometimes in the past Tregoney, is a village and former civil parishes in England, civil parish, now in the parish of Tregony with Cuby, in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies on the River Fal. In the village there is a post o ...

in the County of Cornwall. During his time in the Lords he has chaired both the House of Lords EU select sub-committee on External Affairs, and its ad-hoc select committee on the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

. He oversaw the publication of the Committee's repor
'responding to a changing Arctic'
which explored 'recent and expected changes in the Arctic and their implications for the UK and its international relations'. Teverson has sat on the Liberal Democrat Federal Executive and has also previously chaired the Party's national finance committee. Teverson was elected to

Cornwall Council Cornwall Council ( ), known between 1889 and 2009 as Cornwall County Council (), is the local authority which governs the non-metropolitan county of Cornwall in South West England. Since 2009 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary ...

for the new

St Mewan St Mewan () is a civil parish and village in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is approximately west of St Austell. It is a small settlement, comprising the parish church, rectory, a school and nearby farms. St Mewan parish ...

ward in the 2009 election. during which time he sat as the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Cornwall Council. He did not stand in the subsequent

2013 Cornwall Council election The Cornwall Council election, 2013, was an election for all 123 seats on the council. Cornwall Council is a unitary authority that covers the majority of the ceremonial county of Cornwall, with the exception of the Isles of Scilly which have a ...

Personal life

Teverson is the son of Crofton Teverson. He was educated at

Exeter University The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School o ...

. Teverson was married to Rosemary Anne Young from 1975 to 2005 and they had two daughters. Teverson married Terrye Lynn Jones in 2006. Terrye Jones has stood in parliamentary elections for the Liberal Democrats both before and after marrying Teverson.

References

External links

Lord Teverson bio at www.parliament.gov.uk

Liberal Democrats profile

Profile as non-executive director of the Marine Management Organisation

They Work for You parliamentary contributions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teverson, Robin 1952 births Living people Politicians from Essex Alumni of the University of Exeter Liberal Democrats (UK) MEPs Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers MEPs for England 1994–1999 English environmentalists Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Politicians from Cornwall Members of Cornwall Council Life peers created by Elizabeth II