Richard Fuller (Conservative politician)

Early life

Fuller was educated at Hazeldene School and Bedford Modern School (then a direct grant school), followed by University College, Oxford (1981–84), where he studied Politics, Philosophy & Economics, and Harvard Business School (1987–89) for his MBA.

Fuller was President of the Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA) in 1983. Following the failed nomination of Conservative candidates for the Oxford University Student Union (OUSU), Oxford's student paper Cherwell ran the headline "OUCA falls apart" and Fuller lost a vote of confidence but remained in office. As President, Fuller also provided the first Conservative Party platform for the African National Congress, then a proscribed terrorist organisation in then still apartheid South Africa but not proscribed in the UK.

Professional career

Fuller joined the management consultancy company, LEK Consulting in 1984 as part of their first intake of university graduates. In 1986, Fuller transferred to Sydney to help establish the Australian practice of LEK. After Harvard Business School, he worked in South Korea, before rejoining LEK in Australia and then working for two years on assignment with the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) in Manila, Philippines. In 2000, he joined the alternative assets firm, Investcorp, to help establish their technology ventures group. Fuller joined the board of the Osborne Association, a New York-based charity working with offenders and ex-offenders in 2002. Fuller moved to the United States in 2004 and rejoined LEK in Los Angeles in 2007. He became a non-executive director of Impero Software prior to returning to Parliament in 2019.

Political career

Fuller joined the Conservative Party and began delivering leaflets for Trevor Skeet, the MP for Bedford during the 1979 general election. As a Young Conservative Fuller became a member of the moderate (Tory Reform Group) faction that controlled the National Young Conservatives, in opposition to Monday Club and libertarian elements attempting to wrest control of the movement.

Young Conservatives

Fuller was elected National Chairman of the Young Conservatives from 1985 to 1987, campaigning on social issues such as housing, changes to drugs policies as well as on tackling unemployment. Fuller continued the anti-apartheid policies initiated under previous YC chairmen Iain Picton, Phil Pedley and John Guthrie.

National YC Report on Infiltration & Extremism

The National YC Report was passed in 1984 under Phil Pedley's Chairmanship. Fuller resisted pressure from Conservative Central Office to withdraw support from Pedley who (along with the BBC) was being sued by Harvey Proctor, Neil Hamilton and Gerald Howarth. When the BBC Governors suddenly intervened and ordered the trial be abandoned, Fuller voiced his concerns as to why the trial had been abruptly abandoned. Concern grew over the actions of Malcolm McAlpine, a BBC Governor and a cousin of Alistair McAlpine, the treasurer of the Conservative Party. "He denied yesterday that he had promised Mr Hamilton that he could 'deliver' the governors behind a settlement."

Parliament

Fuller stood as the Conservative candidate for the Bedford constituency in the 2005 general election, losing to the incumbent Labour MP Patrick Hall. Fuller stood again for the Bedford constituency in the 2010 general election, and was elected to office on 6 May 2010, replacing Patrick Hall. He was re-elected in the 2015 general election, but lost to the Labour candidate in the 2017 general election. As MP, Fuller led successful campaigns to retain key services at Bedford Hospital and to enable the establishment of Bedford Free School. Fuller launched a venture fund to invest in local businesses and ran the Bedford Community Business School. In October 2014, Fuller was one of 39 Conservative MPs who voted in favour of recognising Palestine.

Fuller stood and won in North East Bedfordshire in the 2019 general election following Alistair Burt's decision to stand down after having the whip removed and then returned.

Fuller was a member of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee from 2015 to 2017 and rejoined the Committee following the 2019 general election. Fuller played a leading role in the inquiry into the sale and acquisition of BHS and later proposed the first successful motion in the House of Commons to recommend the removal of a knighthood from former BHS owner Sir Philip Green.

Fuller campaigned against the use of detention for immigration purposes achieving restrictions on the detention of pregnant women and co-authoring the 2015 report, "The Use of Immigration Detention in the UK" by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Migration.

Fuller was one of 158 MPs who supported Brexit ahead of the 2016 EU Referendum.

Fuller was appointed Economic Secretary to the Treasury by outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, following the resignation of John Glen during the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis. He left this position following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's first Cabinet reshuffle. He was replaced by Andrew Griffith MP.

In 2023, he was reselected for the new North Bedfordshire constituency. Fuller was re-elected with a decreased majority of 5,414 votes.

Following the Conservative defeat in the 2024 General Election, and the subsequent resignation of Richard Holden, Fuller was appointed by Rishi Sunak to serve as interim Chairman of the Conservative Party for the remainder of his leadership.

References

References

1. Brunskill, Ian. (19 March 2020). "The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election". HarperCollins Publishers Limited.
2. "Who's who in Kemi Badenoch's new shadow cabinet?".
3. (2024-07-08). "Sunak names interim shadow cabinet as David Cameron resigns".
4. "Fuller, Richard, MP (C) North East Bedfordshire, since 2019".
5. (7 July 2022). "Ministerial appointments: July 2022".
6. "Richard Fuller MP".
7. "Awards for Birthday Honours List 2024".
8. Bowcott, Owen. (23 February 2002). "Kurds challenge terror group ban". The Guardian.
9. David Blair, and ed. Andrew Page, ''The History of the Oxford University Conservative Association'' (OUCA, Oxford, 1995), pp.34–5
10. "Board of Directors". Impero Solutions Ltd.
11. Peter Fiddick and Dennis Barker, "BBC in crisis over libel case deal", ''The Guardian'', 20 October 1986
12. ''The Times'' reported that: "Mr Richard Fuller, YC Chairman and a member of the group which endorsed the infiltration report by 39 votes to one, pledged financial backing to Philip Pedley who announced he was fighting on.""MP's get damages over Panorama", ''The Times'', 20 October 1986.
13. {{London Gazette. (13 May 2010)
14. "Election 2010 – Bedford". BBC News.
15. (2014-10-13). "Palestine and Israel Division 54: held on Monday 13 October 2014".
16. "North East Bedfordshire Constituency – Statement of Persons Nominated, Notice of Poll and Situation of Polling Stations 2019".
17. (13 October 2016). "MPs to vote on Sir Philip Green's knighthood". Financial Times.
18. "Andrew Griffith MP".
19. (27 March 2023). "Richard is reselected as the Conservative candidate for the North Bedfordshire".
20. "North Bedfordshire - General election results 2024". BBC News.
21. Heale, James. (2024-07-30). "Who is Richard Fuller, the unknown Tory chairman?".