David Mudd

{{Short description|British politician (1933–2020)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}} {{Use British English|date=August 2016}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = David Mudd | image = | caption = | office = Member of Parliament<br />for Falmouth and Camborne | predecessor = John Dunwoody | successor = Sebastian Coe | term_start = 18 June 1970 | term_end = 9 April 1992 | birth_name = William David Mudd | birth_date = {{birth date|1933|6|2|df=yes}} | birth_place = Falmouth, Cornwall | death_date = {{death date and age|2020|04|28|1933|6|2|df=y}} | death_place = Plymouth, Devon | occupation = Politician | party = Conservative | other_party = Mebyon Kernow (1970s) }}

'''William David Mudd''' (2 June 1933 – 28 April 2020) was a British politician.

Mudd was born in Falmouth, Cornwall, in June 1933. He was educated at Truro Cathedral School and was a member of the Tavistock Urban District Council from 1959 to 1961.<ref>''Times guide to the House of Commons June 1983'' (Times Books, 1983), p. 122</ref> He carried out his National service on merchant ships in the 1950s and, after working for a brief period as a stage manager in ballrooms all over the UK, he decided to take on a career in radio and television broadcast journalism.

He was Conservative MP for Falmouth and Camborne from 1970 until 1992, when he stood down. It was considered a surprise when he decided to stand in his old constituency at the 2005 general election as an independent candidate.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Savill |first1=Richard |title=Ex-MP 'muddies the water' in Falmouth |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1488379/Ex-MP-muddies-the-water-in-Falmouth.html |website=The Daily Telegraph |accessdate=20 May 2020 |date=22 April 2005}}</ref> He came fifth with 2% of the vote.

In the 1970s, Mudd was a member of Mebyon Kernow as well as the Conservative Party.<ref>{{cite web |title=Former MP David Mudd dies aged 86 |url=https://www.thesourcefm.co.uk/blog/former-mp-david-mudd-dies-aged-76/ |website=Source FM |accessdate=20 May 2020}}</ref> He was also a newsreader on Westward Television in the 1970s and a Cornish bard.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vergnault |first1=Olivier |title=Tributes paid to true Cornishman and six time MP David Mudd who died aged 86 |url=https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/tributes-paid-true-cornishman-six-4087752 |website=Cornwall Live |accessdate=20 May 2020 |date=29 April 2020}}</ref>

He died in Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, Devon in April 2020 at the age of 86.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ferguson |first1=Emma |title=Tribute over death of Cornish MP and journalist David Mudd |url=https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/18413160.tribute-death-cornish-mp-journalist-david-mudd/ |website=The Falmouth Packet |accessdate=20 May 2020 |date=29 April 2020}}</ref>

==References== {{Portal|Cornwall}} {{Reflist}} *Times Guide to the House of Commons 1987, BBC news website

==External links== *[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/people/mr-david-mudd/1971 Mr David Mudd: speeches in Parliament] Hansard 1803-2005

{{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{succession box | title = Member of Parliament for Falmouth and Camborne | years = 1970–1992 | before = John Dunwoody | after = Sebastian Coe }} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mudd, David}} Category:1933 births Category:2020 deaths Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Category:Independent politicians in England Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall Category:People educated at Truro Cathedral School Category:Politicians from Cornwall Category:UK MPs 1970–1974 Category:UK MPs 1974 Category:UK MPs 1974–1979 Category:UK MPs 1979–1983 Category:UK MPs 1983–1987 Category:UK MPs 1987–1992 Category:Bards of Gorsedh Kernow