Richard Michael Barnes (born 1 December 1947) is a British politician, who was the
Deputy Mayor of London
A Deputy Mayor is a member of the London Mayoral cabinet, in the executive arm of the Greater London Authority. They serve as political advisors with responsibilities and powers corresponding to portfolios delegated by the Mayor. One of them mu ...
from 2008 to 2012. A former member of the
Conservative Party, Barnes served as the Leader of the Conservatives on the London Assembly from 2007 to 2008, and was the
Member of the London Assembly
The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...
(AM) for
Ealing and Hillingdon
Ealing and Hillingdon is a constituency represented in the London Assembly since its formation in 2000. It has been represented by Bassam Mahfouz of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party since 2024.
As its name suggests, the constituency consists ...
from 2000 to 2012, when he lost his seat to
Labour. On 30 September 2014, Barnes defected to the
UK Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
(UKIP).
Education
He was educated at Trinity High School,
Northampton
Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
, and
Wolverhampton Grammar Technical School
Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...
, where he was head boy, and graduated from the
University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree in Economics.
Political career and community involvement
Barnes was a
councillor
A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...
in the
London Borough of Hillingdon
The London Borough of Hillingdon () is a London borough in Greater London, England. It forms part of outer London and West London, being the westernmost London borough. It was formed in 1965 from the districts of Hayes and Harlington Urban Distr ...
from 1982 to 2014 and was leader of that council from 1998, securing the re-election of the Conservative administration with an 11% swing, one of the most remarkable results in a poor year for the party. In 2014, he stood against the Conservatives as an Independent in Harefield but gained only 460 votes, and the two seats there were held by the Conservatives (Henry Higgins & Jane Palmer). In 2018, he again stood as an Independent in Harefield but finished behind the Conservative candidates of Jane Palmer and Henry Higgins, receiving 483 votes.
Barnes was a member of the
Metropolitan Police Authority
The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) (2000–2012) was the local police authority responsible for scrutinising and supporting the work of the Metropolitan Police Service, the police force for Greater London (excluding the City of London Police ...
, of which he was at one time deputy chairman. He was elected to the
London Assembly
The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...
when it was created in 2000, representing Ealing and Hillingdon, and was Conservative spokesman on policing. In late 2007 he was elected as Leader of the Conservative group in the Assembly, but on 4 May 2012 he lost his Assembly seat in a shock election result, being beaten in Ealing and Hillingdon by
Onkar Sahota
Onkar Sahota is a British Labour Party politician and general practitioner who served as Chair of the London Assembly from 2022 to 2023. He was Deputy Chair of the London Assembly from 2023 to 2024, and the first Labour member of the London As ...
.
Law and order, crime and disorder, and London resilience and safety were Barnes's foremost interests on the Assembly, and chaired the enquiry into the
London bombings of 7 July 2005 and was responsible for its report. This has led to his taking a national and international role in the fight against
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
, particularly in addressing the ability of urban authorities to build resistance and response mechanisms to potential atrocities. In 2007 he spoke at conferences in both
Dubai
Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
Barnes is
openly gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
, and opposed
Section 28
Section 28 refers to a part of the Local Government Act 1988, which stated that Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with t ...
of the
Local Government Act 1988
The Local Government Act 1988 (c. 9) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was famous for its controversial section 28. This section prohibited local authorities from promoting, in a specified category of schools, "the teaching ...
, which stated that a local authority "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality". His reputation was tarnished in September 2013 when he inadvertently posted naked pictures of himself on the internet, but he claimed that his account had been hacked.
On 30 September 2014, Barnes announced that he was leaving the Conservative Party to join the
UK Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
. He was unsuccessful in being selected as the UKIP candidate in the Ruislip, Northwood & Pinner Constituency in May 2015. In 2016 he failed to be selected as the UKIP candidate for London Mayor and also failed to be selected by UKIP in the Ealing & Hillingdon constituency.
Appointment as statutory Deputy Mayor of London
After
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
's victory in the
2008 mayoral election, Barnes was appointed on 6 May 2008 as statutory
Deputy Mayor of London
A Deputy Mayor is a member of the London Mayoral cabinet, in the executive arm of the Greater London Authority. They serve as political advisors with responsibilities and powers corresponding to portfolios delegated by the Mayor. One of them mu ...
,
making him both the first male and the first
LGBT
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
Deputy Mayor of London.
References
External links
Biography from the London AssemblyOfficial website
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Richard
1947 births
Living people
Alumni of Cardiff University
Conservative Members of the London Assembly
Councillors in the London Borough of Hillingdon
English gay politicians
UK Independence Party politicians
London AMs 2000–2004
London AMs 2004–2008
London AMs 2008–2012