William Richard Fletcher-Vane, 2nd Baron Inglewood (born 31 July 1951), usually called Richard Inglewood, is a British politician. Lord Inglewood is a former member of the House of Lords, a barrister and a chartered surveyor. He was a Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 2004, and a junior minister in the UK government from 1995 to 1997.
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Political career
At the 1983 general election, he stood as the Conservative candidate in the safe Labour constituency of Houghton and Washington, where he finished third with 24% of the votes.
At the 1984 European Parliament election he stood unsuccessfully in the Durham constituency, then at the 1989 election he was elected as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Cumbria and Lancashire North. He lost his seat at the 1994 election, but in 1999 was elected for the new North West England constituency. He was the Conservative spokesman on Legal Affairs. He did not contest the 2004 election.
He was a government whip in the Lords from 1994 to 1995, serving as Deputy Chief Whip from January to July 1995. He was then appointed as a junior minister in the Department of National Heritage, serving until the Conservatives lost office at the 1997 general election. During that time he was responsible for broadcasting and heritage, and was Minister for Tourism.
Between 2011 and 2014 he was Chairman of the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications, and 2014–2015 Chairman of the Select Committee on Extradition Law.
Other interests
He was Chairman of the CN Group, an independent local media business based in Carlisle 2002–2016, Chairman of Carr's Milling Industries plc 2005–2013, and of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art 2003–2014, Chairman of Gen2 from 2016 until 2018 and President of Cumbria Tourist Board 2004 to 2019. He was a visiting parliamentary fellow at St Antony's College Oxford 2014–2015, Chairman of the Cumbria Local Nature Partnership 2013–2017. Member Lake District Special Planning Board 1983–1989, Chairman of the Development Control (Planning Committee) of the Lake District National Park 1985–1989, Board Member North West Water Authority 1987–1989.
He has been a deputy lieutenant of Cumbria since 1993 and was appointed vice lord-lieutenant in 2013. In 2018 he became chairman of the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership. He is the current President of Cumbria Wildlife Trust and has been president of Historic Buildings and Places since 2015, president of the British Art Market Federation since 2014, president of the Uplands Alliance since 2015, patron of the Livestock Auctioneers Association since 2016, president of the National Sheep Association since 2017, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) since 2002, and has been a director/trustee of Full Fact since 2014 and the Public Interest News Foundation since 2020.
Lord Inglewood is a Vice President of the National Churches Trust.
Personal life
Inglewood is the eldest son of Conservative Member of Parliament William Fletcher-Vane and his wife Mary née Proby. Barrister Christopher Fletcher-Vane is his younger brother.
He was educated at Eton and at Trinity College, Cambridge, and was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1975. He married Cressida Pemberton-Pigott in 1986.
His home is Hutton-in-the-Forest in the Inglewood Forest area of Cumbria.