| The Right Honourable The Lord Razzall |
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|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 June 1943 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats |
Edward Timothy Razzall, Baron Razzall, CBE (born 12 June 1943, Ealing, London) is a British Liberal Democrat politician.
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Razzall studied at the University of Oxford in the early 1960s, where he also played cricket for the university in 1964.
He qualified as a solicitor in 1969 and worked for Frere Cholmeley (later Frere Cholmeley Bischoff), becoming a partner in 1973, and chief executive in 1990 before leaving in 1995 to set up his own business.
In 1974 he was elected to represent Mortlake ward in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames which he held for 24 years. During that time he served as chair of the council's Policy and Resources Committee for 13 years.
In 1986 he became joint Treasurer of the Liberal Party and then Treasurer of the newly merged Liberal Democrats in 1988. He was appointed CBE in 1993 and created a life peer on 22 October 1997 as Baron Razzall, of Mortlake in the London Borough of Richmond. In July 2002, he was the best man at the wedding of Charles Kennedy, the then Liberal Democrat leader, and Sarah Gurling.
From 2000 to 2006, he was Chair of the Liberal Democrats' Campaigns and Communications Committee. Along with Lord Rennard, he was responsible for running the Liberal Democrats' election campaigns. He stepped down from this post in May 2006 saying he wanted a change and to give his successor a chance to settle into the role before the 2010 general election.
He is currently the Liberal Democrat spokesman on trade and industry in the House of Lords. His current partner is Jane Bonham Carter, Baroness Bonham-Carter,.[1] His daughter from an earlier relationship is Katie Razzall, Channel 4 News presenter and reporter, married to actor Oliver Milburn.
Baron Razzall's father, Humphrey Razzall, was a Liberal Party member and a Liberal parliamentary candidate in the 1945 General Election.
He was criticised when it was claimed that he and his partner, Baroness Bonham-Carter, share a flat but both claim expenses from the House of Lords.[2]