Richard Barnes (British politician)

Richard Barnes
Barnes on stage at the St George's Day festival, 2010
Deputy Mayor of London
In office 6 May 2008 – 4 May 2012
Mayor	Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Nicky Gavron
Succeeded by	Victoria Borwick
Leader of the London Assembly Conservative Group
In office 2006–2008
Preceded by	Angie Bray
Succeeded by	Roger Evans
Member of the London Assembly for Ealing and Hillingdon
In office 4 May 2000 – 4 May 2012
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Succeeded by	Onkar Sahota
Personal details
Born	1 December 1947 (age 68)
Nationality	British
Political party	UKIP (2014–present) Conservative (until 2014)
Alma mater	University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology

Richard Michael Barnes (born 1 December 1947) is a former Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom, who was the Deputy Mayor of London from 2008 to 2012, and the Member of the London Assembly for Ealing and Hillingdon from 2000 to 2012, when he lost his seat to Labour. On 30 September 2014, Barnes defected to the UK Independence Party.

He was educated at Trinity High School, Northampton, and Wolverhampton Grammar Technical School, where he was head boy, and graduated from the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics.

Barnes was a councillor in the London Borough of Hillingdon from 1982 to 2014 and was leader of that council from 1998, securing the re-election of the Conservative administration with an 11% swing, one of the most remarkable results in a poor year for the party. In 2014, he stood against the Conservatives as an Independent in Harefield but gained only 460 votes, and the two seats there were held by the Conservatives (Henry Higgins & Jane Palmer).

Barnes was a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, of which he was at one time deputy chairman. He was elected to the London Assembly when it was created in 2000, representing Ealing and Hillingdon, and was Conservative spokesman on policing. In late 2007 he was elected as Leader of the Conservative group in the Assembly, but on 4 May 2012 he lost his Assembly seat in a shock election result, being beaten in Ealing and Hillingdon by Onkar Sahota.