David Rendel
Encyclopedia
David Digby Rendel is a British
Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Newbury
from 1993 to 2005. He won the seat at by-election in May 1993
caused by the death of Judith Chaplin
, and held it his defeat at the 2005 general election
to Conservative
candidate Richard Benyon
. At the time he lost his seat he was the Liberal Democrats' spokesperson on Higher and Further Education.
, Magdalen College, Oxford
and St Cross College, Oxford
, Rendel was a member of the winning University of Oxford
boat race
crew of 1974.
He is a great-grandson of civil engineer Sir Alexander Meadows Rendel
, and a great-great-nephew of Liberal
MP Stuart Rendel
.
from 1987 to 1995.
He won the by-election in 1993 with a massive majority of 22,055. Unlike some other Conservative by-election losses during the same parliament, tactical voting
by Labour
voters can have played little role in the result, as the Labour candidate at the preceding 1992 general election
had secured only 6% of the vote. The drop in the Labour vote accounted for only a small fraction of Rendel's margin of victory in the by-election.
He stood in the 1999 election for the leadership of the Liberal Democrats
, but came fifth, losing to Charles Kennedy
.
Rendel is a directly elected member of the Liberal Democrats Federal Executive committee.
During May 2006, Rendel was selected by local party members as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Newbury seat for the next election. At the general election in May 2010 was defeated by the sitting Conservative MP, Richard Benyon, whose majority was 20.9%.
After the election, Rendel was the only member on the Liberal Democrats Federal Executive to vote against the recommendation that the party forms a coalition government with the Conservative Party
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Newbury
Newbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Newbury is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returns one Member of Parliament , elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....
from 1993 to 2005. He won the seat at by-election in May 1993
Newbury by-election, 1993
The Newbury by-election, in West Berkshire, England, was held on 6 May 1993 after Conservative Member of Parliament Judith Chaplin died, after only being elected the previous year. It was won by David Rendel of the Liberal Democrats with an impressive swing of 28.4%...
caused by the death of Judith Chaplin
Judith Chaplin
Sybil Judith Chaplin OBE, known as Judith Chaplin, was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom....
, and held it his defeat at the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
to Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate Richard Benyon
Richard Benyon
Richard Henry Ronald Benyon MRICS is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Newbury since 2005 and a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since May 2010.-Early life:Benyon was born in...
. At the time he lost his seat he was the Liberal Democrats' spokesperson on Higher and Further Education.
Early life
Educated at Eton CollegeEton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
and St Cross College, Oxford
St Cross College, Oxford
St Cross College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is an all-graduate college, sharing attractive, traditional-style buildings on a central site in St Giles', just south of Pusey Street...
, Rendel was a member of the winning University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
boat race
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
crew of 1974.
He is a great-grandson of civil engineer Sir Alexander Meadows Rendel
Alexander Meadows Rendel
Sir Alexander Meadows Rendel was a British civil engineer.Rendel was born in Plymouth. He was the eldest son of the engineer James Meadows Rendel and his wife Catherine Harris...
, and a great-great-nephew of Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
MP Stuart Rendel
Stuart Rendel, 1st Baron Rendel
Stuart Rendel, 1st Baron Rendel was a British industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal politician. He sat Liberal Party Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire between 1880 and 1894 and was recognised as the leader of the Welsh MP's...
.
Political career
Rendel was a Newbury District CouncillorCouncillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
from 1987 to 1995.
He won the by-election in 1993 with a massive majority of 22,055. Unlike some other Conservative by-election losses during the same parliament, tactical voting
Tactical voting
In voting systems, tactical voting occurs, in elections with more than two viable candidates, when a voter supports a candidate other than his or her sincere preference in order to prevent an undesirable outcome.It has been shown by the Gibbard-Satterthwaite theorem that any voting method which is...
by Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
voters can have played little role in the result, as the Labour candidate at the preceding 1992 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
had secured only 6% of the vote. The drop in the Labour vote accounted for only a small fraction of Rendel's margin of victory in the by-election.
He stood in the 1999 election for the leadership of the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats leadership election, 1999
The 1999 Liberal Democrats leadership election was called following the resignation of Paddy Ashdown as leader. There were five candidates and all members of the party were balloted using the Alternative Vote preference system...
, but came fifth, losing to Charles Kennedy
Charles Kennedy
Charles Peter Kennedy is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who led the Liberal Democrats from 9 August 1999 until 7 January 2006 and is currently a Member of Parliament for the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency....
.
Rendel is a directly elected member of the Liberal Democrats Federal Executive committee.
During May 2006, Rendel was selected by local party members as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Newbury seat for the next election. At the general election in May 2010 was defeated by the sitting Conservative MP, Richard Benyon, whose majority was 20.9%.
After the election, Rendel was the only member on the Liberal Democrats Federal Executive to vote against the recommendation that the party forms a coalition government with the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.
External links
- David Rendel official site
- David Rendel profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
- Guardian Politics Ask Aristotle - David Rendel
- TheyWorkForYou.com - David Rendel
- The Public Whip - David Rendel voting record
- BBC News - David Rendel profile 10 February 2005