Richard Harrington (politician)

Richard Harrington was born in 1957 to a British Jewish family[5] in Leeds where his father was a shopkeeper. He was educated at Leeds Grammar School and Keble College, Oxford University, where he studied Jurisprudence. While at Oxford, he sat on the Executive Board of the Federation of Conservative Students and was a member of the National Union Executive of the Party.[6]

Starting his career on a graduate scheme at the John Lewis Partnership, Richard worked his way up to assistant to the managing director of Waitrose. In 1983, he co-founded Harvington Properties, a property development and investment company, in which he retains a significant shareholding. In 1990, Richard became a shareholder and managing director of a company active in the development, sales and management of holiday resorts in both the UK and Europe. The company was sold to a listed American company at the end of the decade and today owned by one of the worlds leading private equity firms. Richard stayed on as chairman until 2000. When he left, the company employed more than 2,000 people in the UK and Europe[6] Among his other notable work in the hospitality field included the restoration of one of Glasgow's most famous hotels, One Devonshire Gardens.[7]

Richard has also been involved in a series of successful Joint Ventures investment in start-up companies. Richard was also a shareholder in and non-executive director of a wealth management company in the City of London which was sold to a Canadian Public Company in 2011.

Since leaving Westminster, Richard has built his portfolio of  executive and consultancy roles. He has taken on the role of Senior Advisor and a member of the international board  APCO Worldwide, a global company offering strategic consultancy and political advice to governments and corporations.

He has returned as a director of Harvington Properties Ltd, and is also on the Advisory Board of the Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick.

Harrington supports a range of charities and has been a trustee of the Variety Club Children's Society.[8] He is also trustee of several charities in Watford.[6]

Richard was elected Member of Parliament for Watford in 2010, taking what had been a three way marginal from Labour and holding it in the 2015 and 2017 General Elections. In 2015 he was appointed as the Prime Minister's adviser on Apprentices and also Joint Chairman of the Apprenticeship Delivery Board. Later that year David Cameron appointed him as Home Office Minister with responsibility for Refugees. From July 2016 until June 2017 he served as Pensions Minister, working closely with major asset managers and pension providers in the UK.

Following the General Election of June 2017 he was for two years Business Minister at the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy with responsibility for sectors including Professional Services, Steel, Automotive, Aerospace, Advanced Manufacturing, Nuclear, Life Sciences and Chemicals. He also sat on Cabinet committees dealing with Brexit In early-2019, Richard warned of the risks of a no-deal Brexit.

On 25 March 2019, he resigned from the government to vote for Oliver Letwin’s amendment.

Harrington was married in 1982 to Jessie and they separated in December 2013. They have two grown-up sons.[9]

• Richard Harrington MP Official website
• Watford Conservatives
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• The Register of Members' Financial Interests, House of Commons Publications, at 6 September 2010