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Freddie van Mierlo

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Freddie van Mierlo
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament
for Henley and Thame
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Preceded byConstituency established
Majority6,267 (11.8%)
Member of Oxfordshire County Council for Chalgrove and Watlington
Assumed office
10 May 2021
Preceded bySteve Harrod
Member of South Oxfordshire District Council for Watlington
Assumed office
8 May 2023
Personal details
Born
Frederick Isaac van Mierlo

1988 or 1989 (age 34–35)
Political partyLiberal Democrats
Alma mater

Frederick Isaac van Mierlo[1] (born 1988 or 1989)[2] is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley and Thame since 2024. He has also been a member of Oxfordshire County Council since 2021 and South Oxfordshire District Council since 2023. Before his election to Parliament, van Mierlo worked as a consultant to companies and patient groups.

Early life and education

Van Mierlo grew up in Preston, Lancashire. His father moved to England from the Netherlands to work as a physiotherapist.[3] He has a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in geographical sciences from the University of Bristol and a Master of Arts (MA) degree in European Union studies from Leiden University in the Netherlands, and also studied geographical sciences at Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble, France.[4][5][6]

Career

Van Mierlo lived and worked in Belgium before moving to South Oxfordshire in 2020. He was a director at the strategy consultancy Harwood Levitt Consulting,[7] and worked as a consultant to companies, NGOs, foundations and patient groups.[4][5]

In the 2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom, van Mierlo was on the Liberal Democrat party list for North West England.[8] Since the 2021 election, van Mierlo has been a member of the Oxfordshire County Council for the division of Chalgrove and Watlington,[5][9] and since the 2023 election a member of South Oxfordshire District Council for the ward of Watlington.[10] He served as South Oxfordshire's cabinet member for climate change and nature recovery from 2023 to 2024.[11][12]

Van Mierlo stood as a Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate in the Lancashire constituency of Fylde at the 2015 and 2017 general elections.[7] He was elected as Member of Parliament for Henley and Thame in the 2024 general election, receiving 45.0 per cent of the vote, with a majority of 6,267 over the second-placed Conservative candidate.[13] Its predecessor constituency of Henley had been held by the Conservatives for 114 years, since the January 1910 general election.[14]

Personal life

Van Mierlo lives in Henley-on-Thames with his wife and daughter.[4] He is a distant relative of Hans van Mierlo, a co-founder of the Dutch liberal party Democrats 66.[3]

References

  1. ^ "No. 64465". The London Gazette. 22 July 2024. p. 14086.
  2. ^ Colivicchi, Anna (31 October 2022). "County councillor chosen to represent Lib Dems in Henley in next general election". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b Kieskamp, Wilma (15 May 2017). "Van Mierlo-telg wil het Britse Lagerhuis veroveren". Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "General election 2024: Voters head to the polls". Henley Standard. 4 July 2024. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Councillor Freddie van Mierlo". Oxfordshire County Council. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  6. ^ Qurashi, Noor (12 July 2024). "Introduction to Oxfordshire's new MPs after General Election". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b Owen, Jonathan (7 August 2023). "Lib Dem comms general election candidates revealed". PRWeek. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  8. ^ "2019 European elections: List of candidates for the North West". BBC News. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  9. ^ Whittaker, Rebecca (9 May 2021). "Oxfordshire elections results 2021: County council winners and losers". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Freddie van Mierlo". South Oxfordshire District Council. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Leader and cabinet members confirmed for South Oxfordshire District Council". South Oxfordshire District Council. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Leader's Report – Annual Council Meeting 16 May 2024". South Oxfordshire District Council. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Henley and Thame - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  14. ^ Booth, Robert (5 July 2024). "'A toddler could do better': how Lib Dems won over Tory stronghold of Henley". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency Member of Parliament
for Henley and Thame

2024–present
Incumbent