34 Facts About Richard Benyon

Richard Benyon previously was Minister of State for Climate, Environment and Energy from 2023 to 2024.

Richard Benyon was elected to Newbury District Council in 1991 and became Conservative group leader in 1994.

Richard Benyon became MP for Newbury at the 2005 general election.

Richard Benyon had the Conservative whip removed on 3 September 2019 by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, after voting against the government, and sat as an independent MP until he had the whip restored on 28 October 2019.

Richard Benyon was appointed to the House of Lords by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Richard Benyon is the elder son of Sir William Richard Benyon, a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1992, and is the great-great-grandson of former Conservative Prime Minister Lord Salisbury.

Richard Benyon is the nephew of Admiral Sir David John Hallifax and a great-grandson of Sir John Shelley, 9th Baronet.

Richard Benyon was educated at nearby Bradfield College and the Royal Agricultural College.

Richard Benyon was promoted to lieutenant on 8 August 1983.

Richard Benyon transferred to the Regular Army Reserve of Officers on 8 August 1984, thereby ending his military career but maintaining call-up liability.

Richard Benyon was elected in 1991 to Newbury District Council, and became Conservative group leader in 1994, in opposition to the then-ruling Liberal Democrats.

Richard Benyon contested the Newbury constituency at the 1997 general election but lost heavily to the 1993 by-election incumbent Liberal Democrat David Rendel.

Richard Benyon made his maiden speech on 20 May 2005 and served on the Home Affairs Select Committee from 2005 to 2007, when he became an Opposition Whip.

Richard Benyon was the Shadow Minister for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2009 until the 2010 general election when he entered government.

Richard Benyon was one of the first 15 MPs to support David Cameron's Conservative Party leadership bid.

Richard Benyon was made Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the first Cameron Ministry.

In December 2012, Richard Benyon's neighbours complained when Hanson Aggregates were given permission to extract 200,000 tonnes of sand and gravel a year from woodlands on Richard Benyon's family estate, leading it to be described as a 'bombsite'.

Richard Benyon said that the estate was controlled by a family trust.

In 2013, Richard Benyon succeeded in preventing any cuts in fishing quotas.

Richard Benyon said that if British fishermen had their quotas cut they would dump even more fish overboard, and the more fish they are allowed to catch, the better it will be for "the health of our seas".

Also in 2013, Richard Benyon's policy relating to access to rivers and his role as an owner of fishing rights was criticised.

Richard Benyon was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 European Union membership referendum.

In 2017, Richard Benyon was accused of nepotism by Private Eye after he hired his sister, Catherine Haig, as a part-time senior researcher in his office just before a parliamentary ban on such practices came into force.

Richard Benyon sat as an independent MP until he had the Conservative whip restored on 28 October 2019.

Richard Benyon stood down as Member of Parliament for Newbury at the 2019 general election citing disagreements over Brexit.

Richard Benyon was appointed to the House of Lords by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in late 2020.

Richard Benyon was created Baron Benyon, of Englefield in the Royal County of Berkshire, on 26 January 2021.

On 13 May 2021, Richard Benyon was made Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Biosecurity following the resignation of Lord Gardiner of Kimble.

Richard Benyon became a crossbencher in the House of Lords on 10 September 2024.

Richard Benyon is a patron of the charity Berkshire Vision, a charity dedicated to supporting the visually impaired in the county.

Richard Benyon is one of nine Vice-Presidents of Berkshire County Scout Council.

In December 2017, Richard Benyon was banned from driving for six months after admitting to using a mobile phone while driving 5 to 7 metres in a traffic jam.

Richard Benyon had previously spoken out against mobile phone-using drivers after four people were killed by a distracted driver in an accident in his constituency.

Richard Benyon was appointed Lord Chamberlain by King Charles III on 4 November 2024, and was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.