Richard Holden is the Conservative MP for North West Durham, having gained the seat in 2019 from the Labour Party with a majority of 1,144.
The North West Durham constituency is found within County Durham and covers the towns of Consett, Crook, Lanchester and Willington. Up until 2019, Durham North West had been held by Labour ever since the Second World. Theresa May had contested the seat unsuccessfully for the Conservatives in the 1992 General Election.
Born in 1985, Richard Holden studied government and history at the London School of Economics. A former deputy head of press at the Conservative Party, Holden also worked as a former Special Advisor to the Cabinet Ministers, Michael Fallon and Gavin Williamson.
Having worked for the Conservative Party for many years, he could be regarded as something of a career or professional politician.
Holden is a member of the All Party Groups on Housing in the North, Local Democracy, Rural Business, Apprenticeships, and Game and Wildlife Conservation.
In 2021, Holden was fined £100 for dropping a cigarette butt on the street in Stanley in his constituency. He had previously campaigned against littering and what he himself had described as ‘litter tossers.
A cricket lover, he is also a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Cricket.
Email – richard.holden.mp@parliament.uk
Website – www.richardholden.org.uk
Twitter – @RicHolden
