Monica Bernadette Etheldreda Harding is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Esher and Walton since 2024. Before she entered politics, Harding was a management consultant, and director and CEO of organisations in Europe and Asia.

Career

Before entering politics, Harding was a director, chief executive officer and management consultant, working in organisations in Europe and Asia. She was director of communications at the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

and president and CEO of Refugees International Japan. Harding contested the 2019 general election in the constituency of Esher and Walton, finishing in second place and reducing the majority of the incumbent

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Dominic Raab Dominic Rennie Raab ( ; born 25 February 1974) is a British former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor from September 2021 to September 2022 and again from October 2022 to ...

, then foreign secretary and later

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

, from 23,298 to 2,743. In the 2024 general election, Harding was elected as MP for Esher and Walton with 52.6 per cent of the vote and a majority of 12,003. Voter turnout was 72.8%. She became the constituency's first female MP, and the first not to be elected from the Conservative Party in more than a century. On 18 September, Harding was appointed by Liberal Democrat Leader

Ed Davey Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, leader of the Liberal Democrat party since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State ...

as the party spokesperson for

International Development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic development, economic or human development (economics), human development on an international sca ...

as part of his Frontbench Team.

Personal life

Harding had lived in

Thames Ditton Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred south-west of Charing Cross in central London. Thame ...

for 17 years . She has four children.

References

External links

* * Living people 20th-century English women 21st-century English women 21st-century British women politicians British chief executives British women chief executives British management consultants Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies Politicians from Surrey UK MPs 2024–present People from Thames Ditton Year of birth missing (living people) {{England-UK-MP-stub