11 Facts About Keith Raffan

Keith William Twort Raffan was born on 21 June 1949 and is a former British politician.

Originally a Conservative, Keith Raffan was in the early 1970s a chairman of Pressure for Economic and Social Toryism, thus placing him on the left of the party.

Keith Raffan was elected as Conservative MP for the Welsh seat of Delyn from 1983 to 1992, but his views on issues like drugs put him out of favour with the prevailing leadership of Margaret Thatcher, and he was never made a Minister.

Keith Raffan was one of the few Conservative MPs to support the 'stalking horse' leadership challenge of Anthony Meyer against Thatcher in 1989, and he then supported Michael Heseltine's challenge to Thatcher the following year.

Keith Raffan stood down from the House of Commons at the 1992 general election and abandoned the Tories, in part because of his strong support for Scottish and Welsh devolution.

Keith Raffan joined the Liberal Democrats that same year, and after working as a broadcaster and public relations consultant in New York and for Welsh TV channel HTV moved to Scotland.

Keith Raffan was re-elected at the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, and became a Vice Convener of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Keith Raffan faced further criticism after his resignation for working at ITV Wales despite being "too sick to work".

Keith Raffan was replaced in his seat by Andrew Arbuckle, who had been next on the Liberal Democrat list for Mid Scotland and Fife in 2003.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have confirmed to the press that Keith Raffan is no longer a party member.

Keith Raffan has subsequently left his third political party and now considers himself an independent.