Edward Lord

Early life and education

Born near Rochdale, Lancashire, son of Charles Andrew Lord, a leather merchant, and Vivienne Marie Fairbank (now Brittain), a teacher. He attended the independent Bury Grammar School from 1976 to 1990. He attended the University of Essex, reading Public Policy & Public Management in the Government Department. Whilst at Essex, he was Chairman of the Students' Union Council and a student member of University Senate. He graduated from Essex in 1994 and was appointed to the Court of the University in 2011.

Party politics

Lord joined the Rochdale Conservative & Unionist Association in 1987, after protesting at the secrecy of the Labour-run Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council's budget. That same year he re-formed, and became chairman of, Rochdale Young Conservatives, going on to be elected secretary of the North West Area Young Conservatives in 1990 (becoming senior vice chairman in 1991 and vice-president from 1992 to 1995). He was a member of the national executive committee of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations from 1991 to 1994 and of the Young Conservatives National Advisory Committee from 1991 to 1995.

In 1994, Lord became the first Conservative to be elected to the national executive of the National Union of Students for over a decade. Re-elected in 1995, he served as chair of the Social Policy Committee and took the chair at the NUS national conferences in 1995 and 1996.

Lord acted as candidate's aide to John Whittingdale OBE MP in South Colchester & Maldon in the 1992 General Election and to John Marshall in Finchley & Golders Green in 1997. In 2002, he was approved for the Conservative parliamentary candidates' list.

In 2003, he joined the Norris for London campaign as deputy director, working to campaign director Mark MacGregor.

In November 2003, Michael Howard succeeded Iain Duncan Smith as Conservative Party leader, which provoked Lord to resign from the Party and join the Liberal Democrats

Lord immediately became a fundraising adviser to the then party treasurer, Reg Clark, becoming deputy party treasurer to Lord Clement-Jones in July 2005. He stepped down from that role when Menzies Campbell became Leader the following year, Lord having been election agent to failed leadership candidate Mark Oaten.

In January 2011, Lord was elected to the Party's Finance and Administration Committee, the operational board which oversees the Headquarters, including staffing, finance, fundraising, membership and compliance.

City of London

Lord was elected to the City of London Court of Common Council for the Ward of Coleman Street in February 2001 at the age of 29. He translated wards to Farringdon Without, the City's largest ward, in 2009 and in March 2012 was appointed by the Ward Alderman, Simon Walsh, as his Deputy. Walsh did not seek re-election as Alderman in May 2013 and with his retirement, Lord lost the office of Ward Deputy.

He was chairman of the City's Licensing Committee from 2010 to 2013 and now serves as Chairman of the Standards Committee, Deputy Chairman of the Establishment Committee and a member of the senior Policy and Resources Committee as well as the City Bridge Trust Committee. He is also a Governor of the City of London School.

He is a Liveryman of the Broderers' Company and a Freeman of the Leathersellers' Company and Fletchers' Company. He became a Freeman of the City of London in January 2000.

Local government

First appointed to the Improvement Board of the Local Government Association (LGA) in 2004 as one of its inaugural deputy chairmen, serving under Sir Simon Milton, he was the Board's longest serving member until he stood down in July 2013 and was the LGA's lead member for equality and social inclusion.

In 2005, he was appointed as chairman of the Public Private Partnerships Programme (4ps), the LGA's in house adviser on the private finance initiative. In 2009 he led the merger with Partnerships UK plc to become Local Partnerships LLP, which is jointly owned by the LGA and HM Treasury and acts as the commercial and efficiency taskforce for councils and other local public bodies in England and Wales. He retired as chairman of Local Partnerships in November 2012, but remains a Non-Executive Director.

He was also a member of the LGA's governing National Executive from 2008-12. He served in 2008–09 as Chairman of the 'Getting Closer' Member Task Group overseeing the implementation of the LGA Group Development Strategy and in 2009–10 on the Member Task Group on local government investment and treasury management arrangements. He led the early stages of the LGA's work on promoting the development of municipal bonds to fund local infrastructure projects.

In 2010, Lord was appointed to the board of Capital Ambition, the regional improvement and efficiency partnership for Greater London, and in February 2011 became chairman of a reorganised board, also joining the Leaders' Committee of London Councils.

He is a graduate of the Local Government Leadership Academy.

Non-political career

His career immediately after graduation mainly centred around public relations and fundraising, working in various roles for the National Playing Fields Association, Otto Schiff Housing Association and British Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1998, he became development director of Liverpool John Moores University and from 2000 to 2002 held the same role at the City University London.

Since leaving City University, he has worked freelance advising on public affairs, fundraising, governance and protocol, trading as Edward Lord Consultants. He has also taken interim roles for a number of charities, including ten months as permanent secretary to Imperial College Union and seven months as external relations director at children's charity Coram. In October 2013, he joined breast cancer charity The Haven as part-time fundraising and development director., until May 2014.

On 1 January 2011, he became a non-executive director of Parkwood Holdings plc, a specialist support services group providing outsourced greenspace and leisure management for local authorities and other organisations, a role he held until May 2012, leaving after the company de-listed from the Stock Exchange. In January 2013, he became a non-executive director of the Social Investment Business Group.

His other public appointments have included being deputy chairman of the Whittington Hospital NHS Trust and board member of the College of Optometrists, Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners and London Strategic Housing.

Sports Administration

Lord was deputy chairman of the City of London Corporation's 2012 Committee, leading on all aspects of the City's engagement with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and was granted a full accreditation at both Games. He is now the City's Lead Member for Olympic and Paralympic Legacy.

In late 2012, he joined the Inclusion Advisory Group of the London Football Association, becoming its chairman in February 2013. In October 2013 he was appointed by the Football Association to chair anti-discrimination related disciplinary commissions and in December 2013 as a member of the FA Inclusion Advisory Board.

In May 2014, Lord went public with his concerns about the conduct of Richard Scudamore, Chief Executive of the Premier League whom the Sunday Mirror revealed had sent a range of sexist and discriminatory emails. Lord, as a member of the FA IAB (albeit in a personal capacity) questioned whether the Football association should charge Scudamore with bringing the game into disrepute.

Lord was removed from the FA Inclusion Advisory Board in September 2014 after giving an interview to the Daily Telegraph in which he criticised the Association for its inaction in tackling high level discriminiation in the game, citing the Scudamore incident and serval others. His removal provoked a letter of support in the Daily Telegraph from a range of high-profile figures in sport, politics, and the voluntary sector.

In September 2013, Lord was appointed as Chairman of the Group Board of the Amateur Swimming Association, the English national governing body for swimming, diving, water polo and synchronised swimming, a role he held until standing down in May 2015, following the delivery of a major change in the ASA's governance and senior management.

Law and Judicial Office

He became a Justice of the Peace for the City of London in 2002 and, since 2007, has been sitting in the appellate jurisdiction of the Crown Court at the Old Bailey and Southwark Crown Court. Taking a particular judicial interest in civil liberties, his appeal cases have included a number relating to Brian Haw's peace camp in London's Parliament Square and, in October 2012, nine of the defendants from UK Uncut's protest at Fortnum & Mason during the 26 March 2011 anti-cuts protests.

Lord was admitted to the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in 2008 as a student member.

Equality and Human Rights

In addition to serving as the LGA's lead member for diversity, Lord has been an active advocate for equality across a range of fields, most notably for LGBT people. In April 2012 he was profiled as an openly bisexual politician in Stonewall's role model publication sent to thousands of schools and employers. He has been a trustee or board member of The Albert Kennedy Trust; Anne Frank Trust (UK); British Youth Council; Pride Trust; and Refugee Council. In November 2012, it was announced that he had been appointed to the Ministerial steering group for the review of the Public Sector Equality Duty, which reported in September 2013. In April 2015, he was elected as Bisexual People's Representative to the Community Advisory Board for Pride in London having already been appointed a trustee of bisexual charity BiCon Continuity and research and activist group BiUK.

Lobbying controversy

In December 2011 Lord was caught up in a "sting" by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and The Independent, who posed as representatives of Uzbekistan in a meeting with lobbyist BTP. Lord suggested edits might be made to the country's Wikipedia page to improve its reputation. In footage of the meeting Lord described himself as having a "non-executive" role with BTP, but subsequently explained that he attended the meeting as a favour to BTP's managing director, fellow Liberal Democrat Mark Pursey, and that he had never worked for BTP.

Freemasonry

Lord is a freemason and is a Grand officer and chairman of the Universities Scheme of the United Grand Lodge of England. He is a Member or Honorary Member (*) of the following Masonic lodges and groups:

Honor & Generosity Lodge No. 165 *

Phoenix Lodge No. 173 *

Farringdon Without Lodge No. 1745 (also Royal Arch Chapter)

Duke of Fife Lodge No. 2345

Lodge of Good Fellowship No. 3655 *

City of London Lodge of Installed Masters No. 8220

Metropolitan Grand Stewards Lodge No. 9812

The Iron Bridge Lodge No. 9897 *

Universities Lodge of Staffordshire No. 9907 *

Grafton Lodge of Mark Master Masons No.415

Freemasons' Grand Charity