18 Facts About Richard Tracey

Richard Tracey was the Member of Parliament for Surbiton from 1983 to 1997, and served as Minister for Sport between 1985 and 1987.

Richard Tracey later became a Member of the London Assembly, in which he represented the constituency of Merton and Wandsworth, from 2008 to 2016, when he retired.

Richard Tracey was the Deputy Leader of the London Assembly's Conservative group.

From 1964 to 1966, Richard Tracey was a leader writer for the Daily Express.

Richard Tracey was a public affairs consultant between 1978 and 1983, and between 1997 and 2008.

Richard Tracey was Member of Parliament for Surbiton from 1983 until 1997, when the constituency was abolished owing to boundary changes.

Richard Tracey served as Environment and Sports Minister combatting football hooliganism from 1985 to 1987, opposing sports sponsorship by tobacco companies, and was a main supporter of the National Lottery from 1991 to 1992; a member of the Select Committee for Televising the House from 1987 to 1989; and on the Public Accounts Committee from 1993 to 1997.

Richard Tracey was Chairman of the London Conservative MPs Group from 1990 to 1997.

Richard Tracey was on the Executive Committee of the Association of Former Members of Parliament.

In 2008, Richard Tracey was elected a Member of the London Assembly representing Merton and Wandsworth, later becoming Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group and Conservative lead on transport.

Richard Tracey campaigned to tighten the law on London transport strikes and celebrated the completion of the Overground rail line to Clapham Junction as well as striving to reduce pollution from buses and HGVs in Putney High Street and elsewhere.

Richard Tracey worked on extending the Wimbledon Tramlink to Morden and St Helier.

Richard Tracey was Vice-Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, and Member of the Metropolitan Police Authority.

Richard Tracey was Chairman of the London Waste and Recycling Board from 2012 to 2016, with strategies to increase London recycling.

Richard Tracey retired in 2016, and his former Merton and Wandsworth seat was then won by Labour's Leonie Cooper.

Richard Tracey was a Freeman of the City of London from 1984 onwards, a Freeman of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen, President of Kingston Regatta, and of Kingston RFC, a Justice of the Peace, and a Fellow of the Industry and Parliament Trust from 1985.

Richard Tracey was identified as the sponsor of a Facebook advert, which opposed the Labour Party's 2019 pledge to remove charitable status and tax exemptions from private schools in the United Kingdom.

Richard Tracey died peacefully at home on 19 March 2020, aged 77.