Nicola Richards

Nicola Faye Richards[1] (born 19 December 1994)[2] is a British Conservative Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich East since the 2019 general election.

Nicola Richards
MP
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament
for West Bromwich East
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byTom Watson
Majority1,593 (4.4%)
Personal details
Born
Nicola Faye Richards

(1994-12-19) 19 December 1994
Dudley, England
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
EducationThe Kingswinford School
King Edward VI College, Stourbridge
Alma materUniversity of Birmingham

Early life and career

Richards grew up in Dudley.[3] She attended The Kingswinford School in Kingswinford.[4] and later King Edward VI College, Stourbridge for sixth form. Richards studied politics at the University of Birmingham, graduating with an upper second class degree in 2016. While at university, she was a caseworker for Dudley South MP Chris Kelly, and later for his successor Mike Wood.[5][6] After university, Richards worked as a communications officer for Margot James, Stourbridge MP.[5] Richards then worked in public relations for the Jewish Leadership Council, and the Holocaust Educational Trust.[7][8]

She was elected as a Conservative councillor for Kingswinford North and Wall Heath on the Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council in 2015, and was re-elected in 2019.[9][10] She was the chair of the local Young Conservatives group and a vice-chair of the Dudley South Conservative Association.[8] Richards supported Brexit in the 2016 UK EU membership referendum and campaigned with Vote Leave.[11]

Parliamentary career

Richards was elected as MP for West Bromwich East at the 2019 general election with a majority of 1,593 (4.4%).[12] It was a notionally safe Labour seat as it had previously elected a member of the party since its creation in 1974. Its previous MP was former deputy leader of Labour Party, Tom Watson, who had stood down at the election.[13] Richards was a member of the Women and Equalities Committee from March 2020 to November 2021 and the Education Select Committee from September 2021 to March 2022.[14]

Richards is a supporter of transgender rights and in August 2020 co-authored an article in ConservativeHome with fellow MP Alicia Kearns which called on the government to reform the Gender Recognition Act 2004.[15][16]

References
  1. "Members Sworn". parliament.uk. 17 December 2019. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  2. Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 380. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  3. "Nicola Richards – West Bromwich East". Sandwell Conservatives. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  4. Holder, Bev (20 May 2015). "Mike Wood makes The Kingswinford School his first stop-off after becoming Dudley South's new MP". Hereford Times. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  5. "Nicola Richards: Who is the UK's new youngest MP?". Sky News. 13 December 2019. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  6. "Nicola Richards". Jewish Leadership Council. Archived from the original on 31 December 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  7. Roberts, Lizzie (17 December 2019). "10 under 30: meet the new fresh faced MPs arriving in Parliament for the first time". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.(subscription required)
  8. Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  9. "Results of Elections". Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  10. Coussins, Jordan (3 May 2019). "Dudley Council local elections 2019: Labour and Conservative battle ends in tie". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  11. Madeley, Peter (29 November 2019). "Tories aiming to turn West Bromwich blue for the first time ever". Express and Star. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  12. "West Bromwich East parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". BBC News. 13 December 2019. Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  13. "General election 2019: Conservatives win West Bromwich East". BBC News. 13 December 2019. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  14. "Parliamentary career for Nicola Richards - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  15. Richards, Nicola; Kearns, Alicia (27 August 2020). "Conservatives believe in freedom and choice. That's why we should reform the Gender Recognition Act". Conservative Home. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  16. Maguire, Patrick (28 August 2020). "New Tory MPs demand reform to Gender Recognition Act". The Times.(subscription required)
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