Parliaments Select Committee on Agriculture
What was the position of Richard Livsey, Baron Livsey of Talgarth from Jun 1987 to Mar 1988?
Richard Livsey , Baron Livsey of Talgarth Richard Arthur Lloyd Livsey , Baron Livsey of Talgarth ( 2 May 1935 – 16 September 2010 ) was a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as the Member of Parliament ( MP ) for Brecon and Radnorshire from 1985 to 1992 , and again from 1997 to 2001 . Family and education . He was the son of Arthur Norman Livsey and Lilian Maisie ( née James ) . His father was a seacaptain who died in Iraq when Richard was just three years old . He was therefore brought up in a single parent household by his mother , Lilian , who was a local teacher and headmistress . It was she who had a great influence in his life . Baron Livsey was educated at Talgarth County Primary , Bedales School , Seale-Hayne Agricultural College and Reading University ( MSc in agricultural management ) . On 3 April 1964 he married Irene Earsman of Castle Douglas , Galloway , Scotland , and they went on to have two sons and one daughter . Employment history . Livsey was an agricultural development officer for ICI from 1961 to 1967 . He then went on to become the farm manager on the Blairdrummond Estate in Perthshire from 1967 to 1971 . He then returned to Wales as a senior lecturer at the Welsh Agricultural College , Llanbadarn Fawr until 1985 . He had one further spell in employment outside of Westminster politics when he lost office in 1992 , as the Development Manager of ATB-Landbase Cymru from 1993 to 1997 . Political career . Livsey joined the Liberal Party in Wales in 1960 . In 1970 he stood unsuccessfully as the partys Scottish candidate in Perth and East Perthshire . When he returned to Wales he became active in the Welsh Liberal Party and stood unsuccessfully for Pembroke in 1979 and Brecon and Radnor in 1983 . Livsey had been a keen supporter and activist during the 1979 St Davids Day referendum on a Welsh Assembly on behalf of the Yes Campaign . He continued to be central to the pro devolution cause and was the leader of the Liberal Democrat campaign in the successful 1997 Welsh devolution referendum . Livsey won his home constituency at the second attempt at the 1985 Brecon and Radnor by-election ( it subsequently became Brecon and Radnorshire ) , as a Liberal , with a majority of 559 . The by-election was one of the most notable successes of the SDP-Liberal Alliance period . It was the only Welsh Liberal parliamentary gain in Wales . With a background as a farm manager and lecturer in farm management , he joined Parliaments Select Committee on Agriculture . Livsey joined a group of three Welsh Liberal MPs ( the others being his friend and mentor Geraint Howells , and Alex Carlile ) . He held the same seat in the 1987 general election , subsequently becoming the Liberal Democrat spokesman on Wales , and held the position of Leader of the Party in Wales from 1988 to 1992 . He was also a member of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee . He lost the Brecon & Radnorshire seat at the 1992 United Kingdom general election by the narrow margin of 130 votes , but regained it again at the 1997 United Kingdom general election , with a majority of over 5,000 . He then became leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats until he stood down in 2001 . In that same year he was ennobled as Baron Livsey of Talgarth . As well as being a central figure in Welsh Liberal politics in the post war era Baron Livseys main success was to build Brecon and Radnor into a Liberal Democrat stronghold which enabled Kirsty Williams ( Assembly Member ) and his successor Roger Williams to further strengthen the Liberal Democrat hold there . Livsey was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( CBE ) in the 1994 Birthday Honours . Involvement with the community . Livsey was an extremely active as a constituency MP and remained involved with the community , afterwards . He was patron of and active in many of the organisations in Brecon and Radnor . These included a role as President of the Hay Festival , chairman of the Brecon Jazz Festival and a member of the Talgarth Male Choir . He sang with them at their appearance at the Royal Albert Hall in 2009 . He was succeeded by Roger Williams at the 2001 United Kingdom general election and was created a life peer on 28 August 2001 with the title Baron Livsey of Talgarth of Talgarth in the County of Powys . He became a fellow of Aberystwyth University in 2007 . External links . - Richard Livsey official site - Lord Livsey of Talgarth profile at the site of Liberal Democrats