Richard Alan Younger-Ross (born Richard Alan Ross, 29 January 1953) is a politician in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. He was the
Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for
Teignbridge
Teignbridge is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Newton Abbot. The district also includes the towns of Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Dawlish, Kingsteignton and Teignmouth, along with numerous vi ...
from 2001 to 2010, having contested the seat in
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
and
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 ...
, finally winning in the
2001 election. He was defeated in the redefined
Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge, Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its population was 24,029 in 2011, and was estimated at 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in ...
constituency in
2010 election. In 2013 he fought and won 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 ...
seat of Teignmouth Town, but four years later, on 4 May 2017, he lost his seat to Sylvia Russell, a Conservative, by just 22 votes.
Early life
Richard Younger-Ross was born in Surrey in 1953. He attended Walton County Secondary School for Boys,
Brooklands Technical College in
Weybridge
Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge district in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a cro ...
, then
Ewell Technical College. He studied at Oxford Polytechnic, now
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...
. Before becoming a politician, he was an architectural consultant.
His first, unsuccessful, candidacy for Parliament was at
Chislehurst
Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater ...
in
1987
Events January
* January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency.
* January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.
* January 3 – Afghan leader ...
.
Parliamentary career
He was a member of the Defence Select Committee and was the Lib Dem Spokesperson for Heritage.
In 2003, he voted against
parliamentary approval for the invasion of Iraq.
He was a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee between 2005 and 2008.
In 2005, he proposed amendments to the Water Bill to create a water charge equalisation scheme to reduce the very high costs of water in the South West. This proposal is being considered by the Government following the Walker Report.
In 2006, Younger-Ross proposed a Ten Minute Rule Bill restricting Sunday trading hours in the UK for shops, arguing that without such legislation the British people would lose "rhythm of life" (House of Commons Debate, 24 May 2006). He is a member of the
Beveridge Group.
In 2007, Younger-Ross was one of the last Liberal Democrat MPs to have the chance to question Tony Blair during
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention (political custom), constitutional convention in the United Kingd ...
. Rather than asking a topical or newsworthy question, Younger-Ross chose to ask an esoteric question about
disestablishmentarianism
Disestablishmentarianism is a movement to end the Church of England's status as an official church of England.
Anglican disestablishment Irish church
The campaign to disestablish the Anglican Church of Ireland began in the 18th century. A rich ch ...
, prompting the response from Blair, "I am really not bothered about that one." Also in 2007, he tabled an
Early Day Motion
In the Westminster parliamentary system, an early day motion (EDM) is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by a member of Parliament, which the Government (in charge of parliamentary business) has not yet scheduled for debate.
Hi ...
calling for changes to the voting system of the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...
, arguing that countries voted for their neighbours rather than the best songs. The
UK finished second from the bottom in the
2007 contest, receiving votes only from Ireland and Malta.
In 2008 he proposed that Park Home Site owners should be "fit and proper people", a proposal currently being consulted on by the Government.
Personal life
Younger-Ross moved to
Teignmouth
Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14 ...
,
Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
in 1989, with his wife, Susan Younger, whom he married in 1982 in Oxford. He is a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, attending a church in Teignmouth.
Expenses
On 16 May 2009, ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' released details of several of Younger-Ross's parliamentary expense claims.
The disclosures were part of the newspaper's wider
disclosure of expenses of British Members of Parliament.
Younger-Ross was reported to have claimed more than £1200 for 5 mirrors to furnish his
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
flat, on which the rent was £1566 per month. A further £1475 was claimed for a single
chest of drawers
A chest of drawers, also called (especially in North American English) a dresser or a bureau, or informally a Chester Draws, is a type of cabinet (a piece of furniture) that has multiple parallel, horizontal drawers generally stacked one above a ...
. These claims were submitted and approved by the Fees Office despite the fact that it was in excess of the so-called "
John Lewis List The John Lewis List was the name given to the list of expenses that Members of Parliament (MPs) in the United Kingdom could claim before 2010, after which the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) was set up to administer MPs' busin ...
". It was not issued to MPs but stated that MPs should not spend more than £500 on chests of drawers or more than £300 on a mirror. The Telegraph interpreted the claims as excessive, stating that they were "in clear breach of guidelines that state members must not use public funds" for "antique or luxury" goods.
When questioned on Sky TV, he apologised saying that perceptions of what was luxury depended on your background and income, "clearly we have got it wrong".
On 21 March 2010, Younger-Ross was forced to apologise and pay £4,000 to Parliament after breaching commons rules over a payment he accepted relating to his second home. Younger-Ross had accepted £8,000 windfall money from the new landlord of his second home in Dolphin Square, London. In a letter to Sir Malcolm Rifkind, chairman of the Standards and Privileges Committee, Mr Younger-Ross said: "I wholly accept the report and its conclusions and unreservedly apologise." MPs had been told they could accept this payment by the fees office. Many MPs profited from using the allowance to assist them buying a home, the House of Commons considered this to be acceptable although they may profit by tens of thousands of pounds on the sale of the property.
Subsequent to this, the Telegraph reported that a number of MPs had secretly requested refunds of their initially repaid expense claims after demands received from the House of Commons were lower than expected. Mr Younger-Ross received the fourth largest refund, an amount of £3,170.92, thereby effectively negating the entirety of his initial payment.
Hunting
Younger-Ross had a mixed voting record on hunting, rebelling against his party whips and voting against the fox hunting ban during the amendment stage of the bill and earlier abstaining on the key vote. He argued that although he disliked hunting, he would not vote for a ban which did not compensate those who had legitimately made a living from it. Two wrongs do not make a right he said.
Penal Reform
Younger-Ross is a member of the
Howard League for Penal Reform
The Howard League for Penal Reform is a registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. It was founded as the Howard Association in 1866 and changed its name in 1921 ...
.
References
External links
Richard Younger-Ross MPprofile at the site of Liberal Democrats
*
ttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/richard_younger-ross/teignbridge TheyWorkForYou.com - Richard Younger-Ross MPThe Public Whip - Richard Younger-Ross MPvoting record
BBC News - Richard Younger-Rossprofile 30 March 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Younger-Ross, Richard
1953 births
Living people
English Roman Catholics
Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 2001–2005
UK MPs 2005–2010
Alumni of Oxford Brookes University
People from Weybridge
Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors
Members of Devon County Council