17 Facts About Paul Keetch

Paul Stuart Keetch was a British Liberal Democrat politician and lobbyist who served as Member of Parliament for Hereford from 1997 to 2010.

Paul Keetch went to Hereford High School for Boys, followed by Hereford Sixth Form College.

Paul Keetch was elected to Hereford City Council in 1983 at the age of 21, making him the then-youngest city councillor in the UK, and served two years before resigning to move to London.

Paul Keetch moved to London for Hodge in 1985, but soon left to become a self-employed public affairs consultant.

Paul Keetch was selected as Lib Dem candidate for Hereford in 1994 and was elected to be the city's MP at the 1997 general election.

Paul Keetch was a junior Liberal Democrat spokesman for Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2001, a frontbench spokesman on Defence from October 1999 until the May 2005 general election, and a junior party Whip until 2010.

In July 2005, Paul Keetch succeeded Sharon Bowles MEP as Chair of the Liberal International British Group.

Paul Keetch served for a year as an honorary lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy as part of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme and on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly for five years.

Paul Keetch had comfortably captured his traditionally marginal seat by 6,648 votes when he gained it from the Conservatives in 1997, but his majority dropped to 968 votes when he was re-elected in 2001, and when he won a third term in 2005 it was by 962 votes.

Paul Keetch did not stand for re-election at the 2010 general election.

Paul Keetch missed 9 out of 10 parliamentary votes on MPs' expenses.

In March 2010, a BBC investigation showed that Paul Keetch had breached House of Commons rules relating to declaring outside interests.

Paul Keetch married Claire Elizabeth Baker on 21 December 1991 and they had one son.

Paul Keetch worked for her husband as a constituency case worker.

Paul Keetch resigned from the partnership in 2013 and resumed independent practice.

On 7 March 2016, Paul Keetch announced he would be campaigning to leave the European Union in the 23 June EU referendum.

Paul Keetch fronted the "Liberal Leave" organisation and was the most prominent Liberal Democrat to endorse a Leave vote.