Ian Liddell-Grainger was first elected as the Conservative MP for Bridgwater in 2001 having been reelected for Bridgwater and West Somerset in 2019 with a majority of 24,439.
The constituency of Bridgwater and West Somerset covers the north western portion of Somerset. Containing the Somerset levels, and reaching out to the outskirts of Exmoor National Park, this is a rural seat. The market town of Bridgwater close to the M5 motorway is the largest settlement in the constituency. The Hinckley Point power station, under going considerable redevelopment, is found within this constituency.
Although this area was once the scene of the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685 in which the Monmouth rebellion was finally crushed, the radical politics of this area have long since dissipated. Once represented at Westminster by the Conservative Defence Secretary, Tom King, this area has been safe Conservative territory ever since 1950.
Liddell-Grainger was born in Scotland in 1959. He was educated in Somerset at Millfield School and began work as a farmer on a 250 arable farm, before moving into construction and property.
Liddell-Grainger has been a member of the Territorial Army, rising to the rank of Major. He later became a consultant to Army Land Command HQ in Salisbury and to the MoD in London.
Ian Liddell-Grainger is a great-grandson of HRH Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, making him a great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria.
Liddell-Grainger is regarded as being on the right of the Conservative Party and is a member of the Cornerstone Group of Conservative MPs. He supported Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum.
He backed Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
Ian Liddell-Grainger is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Taxation; the Czech Republic and Slovakia; Morocco; Respiratory Health; Energy Studies; Gardening and Horticulture; Nuclear Energy; Open banking and payments; Taxation; and Cider. He is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Arts and Heritage; Retail Crime; and Dyslexia.
He is married and according to the Register of Members Interests, he employs his wife as a Parliamentary Assistant. He has three children.
Email: ianlg@parliament.uk
Personal Website: http://www.liddellgrainger.org.uk/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ian-Liddell-Grainger/
