Ian Roome () is a British

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 who was elected as the Member of Parliament for

North Devon North Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based just outside Barnstaple, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Ilfracombe, Lynton and Lynmouth and Sout ...

in the

2024 United Kingdom general election The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024 to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The opposition Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won a lan ...

. He previously served for two terms as Mayor of Barnstaple.

Early life and career

Roome was born and raised in Sheffield, attending Chaucer Comprehensive School from 1979 to 1985. After leaving school, Roome joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

in 1986, serving across the United Kingdom, as well as in Germany at

RAF Laarbruch Royal Air Force , more commonly known as RAF ICAO EDUL (from 1 January 1995 ETUL) was a Royal Air Force station, a military airfield, located in Germany on its border with the Netherlands. The Station's motto was . The site now operates ...

. He first came to North Devon in 1989, after being posted to

RAF Chivenor Royal Air Force Chivenor, or more simply RAF Chivenor, is a former Royal Air Force station located on the northern shore of the River Taw estuary, on the north coast of Devon, England. The nearest towns are Barnstaple and Braunton. Originally a ...

. Later, while serving as Mayor of Barnstaple in 2018, he would help to keep RM Chivenor operational, lobbying the Defence Secretary to keep the base open, after it was announced in 2016 that it could be facing potential closure. After leaving the Royal Air Force Roome worked in mental health nursing at

North Devon District Hospital North Devon District Hospital is an NHS district general hospital in the town of Barnstaple, North Devon, England run by Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital has its origins in the North Devon Infirmary es ...

, after which he decided to work as a community mental health worker across North Devon.

Political career

Roome began his political career in 2003, serving as a Councillor for Barnstaple Town Council. During his time as a Barnstaple Town Councillor he held numerous notable positions, such as Mayor of Barnstaple and Chair of the Staff Committee. In 2011, during his tenure as a Barnstaple Town Councillor, he founded and managed a £2.5 million fundraising campaign to build a Chemotherapy and Day Treatment Unit at the

. He also managed an additional £1.5 million capital campaign to build a Cancer and Wellbeing unit at the North Devon District Hospital. Roome was first elected to represent Yeo Valley on the North Devon District Council in May 2015. He was re-elected in May 2019 to represent Barnstaple with Pilton Ward, which he continues to represent today. He is Leader of the Council and

Group. Roome was elected to represent Barnstaple North on the

Devon County Council Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. The council is based at Devon County Hall in the city of Exeter. The area administered by the county council is termed the non-metropolitan county, which is ...

in May 2021. Alongside this he serves on the Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Authority.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roome, Ian Living people Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 2024–present Politicians from Devon Members of Devon County Council Date of birth missing (living people) Mayors of places in Devon