Graham Tope, Baron Tope

The Lord Tope
Official portrait, 2020
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
4 October 1994
Life Peerage
Member of the London Assembly
for (London-wide)
In office
4 May 2000 – 1 May 2008
Preceded byAssembly Created
Succeeded byCaroline Pidgeon
Member of Parliament
for Sutton and Cheam
In office
7 December 1972 – 8 February 1974
Preceded byRichard Sharples
Succeeded byNeil Macfarlane
Personal details
Born (1943-11-30) 30 November 1943 (age 81)
NationalityBritish
Political partyLiberal Democrats, Liberal Party (1972-1988)

Graham Norman Tope, Baron Tope, CBE (born 30 November 1943) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom.[1][2] He was also a councillor in the London Borough of Sutton until 2014.[3]

In 1972, Tope captured the seat of Sutton and Cheam at a parliamentary by-election from the Conservatives for the Liberal Party. The Conservatives retook the seat at the February 1974 general election.[4]

In November 1973, Tope was made spokesperson for the Liberal Party on health and social security and Northern Ireland.[5]

Having been appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1991 Birthday Honours,[6] Tope was created a life peer as Baron Tope, of Sutton in the London Borough of Sutton on 4 October 1994.[7] He is a member of the Committee of the Regions of the European Union and is the only person in the country to have served as a member of a European Institution, a member of the UK Parliament, a member of a regional government structure and as a borough councillor all at the same time.[8]

At the London Assembly, he was leader of the Liberal Democrat Group until 2006, member of the Audit Panel, and member of the Transport Committee. He was also a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, which oversees the Metropolitan Police.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Mr Graham Tope". Hansard. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Parliamentary career for Lord Tope - MPs and Lords". UK Parliament. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Sutton Central Ward". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Experience for Lord Tope - MPs and Lords". UK Parliament. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  5. ^ Groser, John (23 November 1973). "'Portfolios' for Liberal MPs". The Times. No. 58946. p. 2.
  6. ^ "No. 52563". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 1991. p. 9.
  7. ^ "No. 53812". The London Gazette. 7 October 1994. p. 14073.
  8. ^ "Experience for Lord Tope - MPs and Lords". UK Parliament. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Experience for Lord Tope - MPs and Lords". UK Parliament. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Sutton and Cheam
1972February 1974
Succeeded by
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen
Baron Tope
Followed by