David William George Chidgey, Baron Chidgey (9 July 1942 – 15 February 2022) was a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastleigh from

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

to 2005, and latterly sat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

from 2005 until his death.

Early life

Chidgey was born on 9 July 1942. He attended Brune Park County High School (now called Brune Park Community College) in

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a pop ...

. A

chartered engineer Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, then environment and other interests of the general public and to define the licensure process thr ...

, Chidgey was educated as a

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

at the Admiralty College, Portsmouth (Portsmouth Naval College) and then as a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

at the

Portsmouth Polytechnic The University of Portsmouth (UoP) is a public university in Portsmouth, England. Comprising five Faculty (division), faculties, the university offers a wide range of academic disciplines. in 2022, with around 28,280 students enrolled in Unde ...

. He worked for

Hampshire County Council Hampshire County Council (HCC) is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hampshire in England. The council was created in 1889. The county council provides county-level services to eleven of the thirteen districts geo ...

until 1973, and then as a consulting engineer with Brian Colquhoun and Partners until 1994.

Political career

Chidgey was a councillor from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s on

New Alresford New Alresford or simply Alresford ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. It is northeast of Winchester and southwest of the town of Alton, Hampshire, Al ...

Town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

and

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

. He contested the Hampshire Central European Parliament constituency at by-election in 1988 and at the

1989 European Parliament election The 1989 European Parliament election was a held on June Wednesday 15 to Sunday 18 across the 12 European Union member state in June 1989. It was the third European Parliament election but the first time that Spain and Portugal voted at the sam ...

. He was Regional Chairman of the Hampshire and Wight Liberal Democrats from 1992 to 1994. At the 1992 general election, he contested the Eastleigh constituency in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, finishing second behind the

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 ...

candidate, Stephen Milligan.United Kingdom general election results 1992: Eastleigh
, at Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources Following Milligan's death in 1994, Chidgey won the resulting by-election, squeezing the Conservatives into third place. He was re-elected in the

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and 2001 general elections and stood down at the 2005 general election. In the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

, he was a member of the Chairman's panel (2001–2005), an Employment & Training spokesman, Transport spokesman, Trade & Industry spokesman and a member of the

Foreign Affairs Select Committee The Foreign Affairs Select Committee is one of many select committees of the British House of Commons, which scrutinises the expenditure, administration and policy of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The Foreign, Commonwea ...

(1999–2005) and of the

Joint Committee on Human Rights The Joint Committee on Human Rights is a joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to consider human rights issues in the United Kingdom. Membership , the members of the committee are as follows: Se ...

(2003–2005). On 13 May 2005 it was announced that Chidgey would be 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 ...

, and on 17 June 2005 the peerage was created as Baron Chidgey, ''of

Hamble-le-Rice Hamble-le-Rice, commonly known as Hamble, is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Eastleigh (borough), Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. It is best known for being a flying training centre during the Second Wor ...

in the County of Hampshire''. In the

, he was Liberal Democrat spokesman in defence from 2005 to 2006. He was Given the Freedom of the Borough of Eastleigh in 2005. In 2007, Chidgey was named a member of the AWEPA Governing Council. In 2008 Chidgey was named the Chairman of the oversight committee for the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit, a

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

devoted to policy concerns throughout the Commonwealth.

Personal life and death

Chidgey married April Carolyn Idris-Jones in 1965 in

. They had a son and two daughters. He died on 15 February 2022, at the age of 79, from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Arms

References

External links

Lord Chidgey
profile at the site of Liberal Democrats * official site
Eastleigh Liberal Democrats

TheyWorkForYou.com - David Chidgey

The Public Whip - David Chidgey
voting record * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chidgey, David 1942 births 2022 deaths Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Councillors in Hampshire UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 Alumni of the University of Portsmouth English civil engineers People from Gosport Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Life peers created by Elizabeth II Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England