Martin Horwood

Biography

Martin Horwood is the Liberal Democrats Environment spokesperson having been elected MP for Cheltenham in 2005 in succession to the former Liberal Democrat MP for the constituency, Nigel Jones.

Martin was born in St Paul's, Cheltenham, in 1962. His parents lived first in St Mark's, and later in Leckhampton, where his mother is still living. Martin's father was chairman of the Leckhampton Green Land Action Group, campaigning against over-development of green spaces.

Martin joined Cheltenham Young Liberals in 1979 while still a schoolboy, attracted by the Liberal Party's local campaigning and by their commitment to environmental issues and third world development.

While at university in Oxford, where he read Modern History from 1981, Martin became President of the Oxford Student Liberal Society (1983), and was chair of the Liberal Party's national student wing, the Union of Liberal Students, in 1986. After graduating and leaving student politics, Martin worked first in an advertising agency and then in the voluntary sector. In 1990 he returned to Oxford to work as a fundraiser for Oxfam, his teams raising tens of millions of pounds for the poor in dveloping countries, and £2.5 million for victims of the Rwanda genocide.

Between 1991 and 1995 Martin was a district councillor on Oxfordshire's Vale of the White Horse district council, becoming environment spokesman and deputy leader of the council's Liberal Democrat group. Martin fought the 1992 General Election as Liberal Democrat candidate for Oxford East. In 1995 he married Dr Shona Arora, and they moved to India for a year, Martin working for Oxfam as a fundraising manager in New Delhi, while Shona worked for the UN programme on AIDS and a small charity working on sexual health in the slums of Delhi.

Returning to the UK in 1996, Martin became the first director of fundraising at the Alzheimer's Society, the leading care and research charity for people with dementia and those looking after them. Martin led the team which won the charity its nomination as Tesco Charity of the Year, earning £16,000 for the Cheltenham branch of the Society alone. At the 1997 General Election Martin contested the Tory stronghold of the Cities of London and Westminster constituency.

Martin returned to Cheltenham in 2001 to work as head of consultancy for Target Direct, a local business whose charity clients include the British Heart Foundation, Marie Curie Cancer Care and Cheltenham's own National Star College. He was adopted as Liberal Democrat candidate for Cheltenham after Nigel Jones announced his retirement, and immediately set about campaigning on issues close to his heart, including the fight to save Battledown children's ward at Cheltenham General Hospital, where his daughter Maya had been an outpatient. He was also active in defence of Cheltenham's Green Belt, and in raising with the police residents' concerns about vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

After winning Cheltenham at the 2005 General Election with a majority of 2,303 over the Conservatives, Martin was appointed to the select committee scrutinising the work of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (now the Department for Communities and Local Government).

In July 2005 Charles Kennedy appointed Martin to the Shadow Home Affairs team. In March 2006 the new party leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, promoted Martin to Shadow Environment Minister under Chris Huhne and continues under Steve Webb after Nick Clegg was appointed leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Martin's wife, Dr Shona Arora, is now Cheltenham & Tewkesbury Director of Public Health. Martin and Shona have two children, both born in Cheltenham.

Education:

Cheltenham College; The Queen's College, Oxford

Council experience:

Vale of White Horse District Council: Councillor 1991-95, Lib Dem group leader 1993-95

Parliamentary experience:

2006- Shadow DEFRA (Environment) spokesperson, 2005-6 Shadow Home Affairs Minister, 2005- Community and Local Government Select Committee, Cities of London & Westminster 2001, Oxford East 1992

Interests:

Travel, cartoons, astronomy, geneaology. Political interests: Voluntary sector, sustainable development, environment