# Richard Balfe

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{{short description|British politician and life peer (born 1944)|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name             = The Lord Balfe
| honorific_prefix = [The Right Honourable](/source/The_Right_Honourable)
| image            = Official portrait of Lord Balfe crop 2.1, 2019.jpg
| caption          = Official portrait, 2019
| alma_mater       = [London School of Economics](/source/London_School_of_Economics)
| party            = [Conservative](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)) (since 2002)
| other_party      = [Labour](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) (until 2002)
| birth_date       = {{birth date and age|1944|5|14|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [Barton Mills](/source/Barton_Mills), [Mildenhall](/source/Mildenhall%2C_Suffolk), [Suffolk](/source/Suffolk)
| birth_name       = Richard Andrew Balfe
| office           = [Member of the House of Lords](/source/Member_of_the_House_of_Lords)
| status           = [Lord Temporal](/source/Lord_Temporal)
| term_label       = [Life peer](/source/Life_peer)age
| term_start       = 19 September 2013
| term_end         =
| office1          = [Member of the European Parliament](/source/Member_of_the_European_Parliament)<br />for [London](/source/London_(European_Parliament_constituency))<br /><small>[London South Inner](/source/London_South_Inner_(European_Parliament_constituency)) (1979–1999)</small>
| term_end1        = 10 June 2004
| term_start1      = 7 June 1979
| predecessor1     = ''Constituency established''
| successor1       = ''Seat abolished'' 
}}

'''Richard Andrew Balfe, Baron Balfe''' (born 14 May 1944) is a British [politician](/source/politician) and [life peer](/source/life_peer). He was a [Labour Party](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) [Member of the European Parliament](/source/Member_of_the_European_Parliament) (MEP) from 1979 but joined the [Conservative Party](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)) in 2002, before standing down in 2004.

==Early life and career==

Born in [Barton Mills](/source/Barton_Mills), [Mildenhall](/source/Mildenhall%2C_Suffolk), [Suffolk](/source/Suffolk), Balfe spent time in a [children's home](/source/children's_home) in [Sheffield](/source/Sheffield), and was educated at Brook Secondary School in the city.<ref name="WW">{{Who's Who | title = BALFE, Baron (Richard Andrew Balfe) | id = U6298 | volume = 2025 | edition = online}}</ref> He began working in a [bakery](/source/bakery) in 1960 and joined [USDAW](/source/USDAW). The following year, he moved to [London](/source/London) and worked first for the [Crown Agents for Overseas Governments](/source/Crown_Agents_for_Oversea_Governments_and_Administrations_Ltd), then at the [Foreign Office](/source/Foreign_Office), before studying as a mature student at the [London School of Economics](/source/London_School_of_Economics), graduating BSc Hons. in 1971.<ref name="bda.uk.com">{{cite web |title=Introducing your new Honorary President – Lord Balfe of Dulwich |url=https://www.bda.uk.com/dt/articles/introducing_your_new_honorary_president_-_lord_balfe_dulwich |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415115742/https://www.bda.uk.com/dt/articles/introducing_your_new_honorary_president_-_lord_balfe_dulwich |access-date=19 July 2021 |archive-date=15 April 2019 |language=English |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Political career ==
In the [1970 general election](/source/1970_United_Kingdom_general_election), while a student, Balfe stood as the [Labour Party](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) candidate in [Paddington South](/source/Paddington_South_(UK_Parliament_constituency)). He was unsuccessful, and instead became the Research Officer for the [Finer Committee on One-Parent Families](/source/Morris_Finer).<ref name="buckley">Christine Buckley, [https://web.archive.org/web/20090708151036/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/movers_and_shakers/article6083236.ece "Why some unions still see red when wooed by Richard Balfe"], ''[The Times](/source/The_Times)'', 13 April 2009</ref>

At the [1973 Greater London Council election](/source/1973_Greater_London_Council_election), Balfe was elected as the member for [Dulwich](/source/Dulwich_(electoral_division)), serving until 1977. From 1975 until 1977 he was a member of the GLC Housing Committee. During this period, he was also political secretary (later director) of the [Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society](/source/Royal_Arsenal_Co-operative_Society) and chairman of the [Thamesmead](/source/Thamesmead) New Town Committee.<ref name="WW"/>

=== European Parliament ===
At the [first direct elections to the European Parliament in 1979](/source/1979_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom), Balfe was elected as the [Member of the European Parliament](/source/Member_of_the_European_Parliament) (MEP) for [London South Inner](/source/London_South_Inner_(European_Parliament_constituency)). He held his seat until its abolition in [1999](/source/1999_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom), then won a seat from fourth place on the party list for [London](/source/London_(European_Parliament_constituency)).<ref name="buckley" /> He supported a [single European currency](/source/single_European_currency) and was a member of the [European Movement](/source/European_Movement).<ref name="jones">George Jones and Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, "[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1386851/Labour-rebel-joins-Tories-in-disgust.html Labour rebel joins Tories in disgust]", ''[Daily Telegraph](/source/Daily_Telegraph)'', 6 March 2002</ref>

In late 2001, Balfe stood for election to the post of [quaestor](/source/quaestor_(European_Parliament)) in the [European Parliament](/source/European_Parliament), against instructions from his party group.  As a result, he was expelled in January 2002. In March, he joined the [Conservative Party](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)), the first elected Labour politician to do so since [Reg Prentice](/source/Reg_Prentice) in 1977.<ref name="jones" />

Balfe stood down as an MEP in [2004](/source/2004_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom). He then worked primarily as a Conservative campaigner in working-class areas of London, serving as Chair of [Tottenham](/source/Tottenham_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) Conservative Association from 2005 to 2013, which he later described as a "hopeless cause".<ref>{{cite web |title=Lord Balfe: Experience |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/4302/experience |website=UK Parliament |access-date=24 August 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Balfe |first=Lord |title=Ministerial Maternity Bill: Committee Stage |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2021-02-25/debates/DFB70DF3-ABA0-4168-8DBF-DBDA63BA4AEE/MinisterialAndOtherMaternityAllowancesBill |website=[Hansard](/source/Hansard)}}</ref> In 2008, he was appointed by [David Cameron](/source/David_Cameron) as the Conservatives' [trade union](/source/trade_union) envoy.<ref name="buckley" />

=== House of Lords ===
On 19 September 2013 he was created a [life peer](/source/life_peer) taking the title '''Baron Balfe''', ''of [Dulwich](/source/Dulwich) in the [London Borough of Southwark](/source/London_Borough_of_Southwark)''.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=60637 |date=24 September 2013 |page=18815}}</ref> Balfe served as President of the Cambridge [Conservative Association](/source/Conservative_Association), the Honorary President of the [British Dietetic Association](/source/British_Dietetic_Association) and a member of the Advisory Board at the UK-based 'Polar Regions' think-tank [Polar Research and Policy Initiative](/source/Polar_Research_and_Policy_Initiative).<ref name="bda.uk.com" /><ref>{{cite web |title=THE LORD BALFE OF DULWICH |url=http://polarconnection.org/profiles-advisory-bo/lord-balfe-dulwich/ |access-date=19 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122190442/http://polarconnection.org/profiles-advisory-bo/lord-balfe-dulwich/ |archive-date=22 Jan 2021 |language=English |url-status=live}}</ref> Currently, he is President of the TUC affiliated Union BALPA (the British Airline Pilots Association).

On 4 June 2015, Balfe proposed "a bill to make provision to allow European Union citizens who are resident in the United Kingdom to vote in parliamentary elections and to become members of Parliament; and for connected purposes".<ref>[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2015-2016/0027/160027.pdf parliament.uk: HL Bill 27 56/1 European Union Citizens (Electoral) Rights Bill (HL)]</ref>

In line with his pro-EU views, in the run-up to the 2016 referendum Balfe took an active role in "Cambridge For Europe", a local campaign which cites as its purpose ensuring "that people in Cambridge and its wider region fully understand the arguments for continued membership of the European Union".<ref>{{cite web|title=Steering Committee - Cambridge For Europe|url=http://www.cambridgeforeurope.co.uk/about/steering-committee/|website=Cambridge For Europe|accessdate=15 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=About Us - Cambridge For Europe|url=http://www.cambridgeforeurope.co.uk/about/|website=Cambridge For Europe|accessdate=15 January 2016}}</ref> In addition to being a member of the group's steering committee, he was also a patron.<ref>{{cite web|title=Home Page|url=http://www.balfes.com/|website=Balfes|accessdate=15 January 2016}}</ref> He is not associated with the Cambridge for Europe campaign that was relaunched in 2020,<ref>{{cite web|title=Home Page - Cambridge for Europe|url=https://www.cambridgeforeurope.org.uk/|website=Cambridge for Europe|accessdate=28 November 2024}}</ref> and which strongly advocates support for Ukraine's resistance to Russia's invasion.

On 22 June 2023, Balfe attended a party in London organised by [Andrei Kelin](/source/Andrei_Kelin), the Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom on the occasion of [Russia Day](/source/Russia_Day). Kelin gave a speech at the event in which he tried to justify his country's [invasion of Ukraine](/source/Russo-Ukrainian_War).<ref>{{cite web|title=Two British peers attend Russian ambassador's party in London|date=3 July 2023|website=news.yahoo.com |url=https://news.yahoo.com/two-british-peers-attend-russian-064100580.html|accessdate=3 July 2023}}</ref>

He is the only Conservative member of the [https://www.fairelections.uk/ All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Elections], which campaigns to replace [First Past the Post](/source/First-past-the-post_voting) with a [proportional system](/source/Proportional_representation_in_the_United_Kingdom) that makes seats match votes.

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-prec|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=[The Lord Haughey](/source/Baron_Haughey)}}
{{s-ttl|title=[Gentlemen](/source/Orders_of_precedence_in_the_United_Kingdom)'''<br />''Baron Balfe'' '''}}
{{s-fol|after=[The Lord Allen of Kensington](/source/Baron_Allen_of_Kensington)}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balfe, Richard}}
Category:1944 births
Category:Living people
Category:Conservative Party (UK) life peers
Category:Conservative Party (UK) MEPs
Category:Labour Party (UK) MEPs
Category:Labour Party (UK) councillors
Category:Members of the Greater London Council
Category:People from Forest Heath (district)
Category:MEPs for England 1979–1984
Category:MEPs for England 1984–1989
Category:MEPs for England 1989–1994
Category:MEPs for England 1994–1999
Category:MEPs for England 1999–2004
Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Richard Balfe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Balfe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Balfe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.