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Adrian Mark Sanders (born 25 April 1959, Paignton) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He is the Member of Parliament for Torbay in Devon.

Personal life

Sanders is the son of the late John and Helen Sanders, an insurance official and nurse respectively. He went to primary schools in Paignton and Torquay then Torquay Boys' Grammar School. He worked briefly in a timber yard, then in the insurance industry for seven years, and then had a short spell of unemployment before finding work in the political arena.

Adrian Sanders is married to Alison and lives in Paignton. He has had Type 1 diabetes since 1990 and campaigns on issues relating to diabetes.

Sanders is a fan of rock music and occasionally presents a Rock Show on local radio station Palm 105.5. He is also a supporter of Torquay United.

Political career

Sanders joined the Liberal Party in 1979 and in 1985 was elected Vice President of the National League of Young Liberals. He was a Torbay Borough councillor 1984-86. From 1986-89 he lived in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, working for the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors before moving back to Paignton in 1990.

During 1992-93 Sanders worked in the office of Paddy Ashdown, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, and organised the 'Beyond Westminster' Tour. He then moved to become a policy officer at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (1993-94) and then the Southern Association of Voluntary Action Groups for Europe.

Sanders stood unsuccessfully for the seat of Torbay 1992 general election, but did manage to reduce the Conservative majority from 8,820 to 5,787. In the 1994 European Election he stood for the Devon and East Plymouth constituency, narrowly losing because one of the candidates, Richard Huggett, stood as a Literal Democrat and attracted 10,000 votes. This may have confused voters through unconsciously mistaking that party for Sanders' Liberal Democrat party.

In the 1997 general election Sanders stood again in Torbay, this time successfully, defeating the Conservative candidate Rupert Allason by a majority of 12 votes. In the 2001 general election Sanders increased his majority to 6,708, but it fell back to 2,029 at the 2005 general election.

Following the 2001 election, Sanders was made the Liberal Democrat spokesman for Tourism, and was subsequently moved to the position of Deputy Chief Whip of the Party in Parliament, which he currently holds. He is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Diabetes, sits on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee and is a member of the centre-left Beveridge Group within the Liberal Democrats.

Sanders uses the Facebook and Myspace social networking sites to communicate with voters and others and since 2007 has produced a regular blog.

In December 2008 Sanders produced his first video cast - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qfApUdB3NjE

He received the Diabetes UK 75th Anniversary Award in January 2009 for raising awareness of diabetes in Parliament.

References

• AdrianSanders.org Biography
• MySpace Adrian Sanders MP

External links

• Adrian Sanders MP official site
• Adrian Sanders MP Liberal Democrats website profile
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Adrian Sanders MP
• Biography
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Adrian Sanders MP
• The Public Whip - Adrian Sanders MP voting record
• Torbay Liberal Democrats
• BBC News - Adrian Sanders profile 20 February 2007

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• Living people
• Deaths
• Councillors in South West England
• Liberal Democrat MPs (UK)
• Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
• People from Paignton
• UK MPs 1997-2001
• UK MPs 2001-2005
• UK MPs 2005-