Clive Jones is the Liberal Democrat MP for Wokingham, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 election, Jones received 25,743 votes (47.7%). The Conservative candidate, Lucy Demery, received 17,398 votes (32.2%), while the Reform UK candidate, Colin Wright, secured 5,274 votes (9.8%). Jones was duly elected with a majority of 8,345.

The Wokingham constituency is located in Berkshire, South East England. It was represented continuously by Conservative MPs from 1950 until 2024.

Jones’ immediate predecessor as the MP for Wokingham was Sir John Redwood of the Conservative Party. Redwood, who first gained the seat 1987, stood down at the 2024 election.

Political Career

Jones serves on the Liberal Democrat frontbench as care and carers spokesperson (since October 2026). He previously served on the frontbench as trade spokesperson from September 2024 to September 2025.

Jones is a member of the House of Commons finance committee (since October 2024). The finance committee is an internal body of the House of Commons responsible for overseeing the financial management of the House itself. Unlike a select committee, it does not scrutinise government departments. Instead, its remit is purely administrative and focused on the House’s own budget and expenditure.

In October 2024, Jones introduced a private member’s bill (PMB) to require the government to publish a 10-year cancer strategy for England.

Jones made the case for his bill in a Westminster Hall the following month. Leading the debate, the Liberal Democrat MP said a cancer strategy would be “the best route to delivering genuine improvements for patients, for their families and loved ones and for those who work in our health system to research, prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.”

He stated: “It requires political leadership to bring together stakeholders to develop a strategy and co-ordinate implementation. It requires dedicated governance. There must be a robust central oversight function with a mandate to bridge the gap between disconnected government structures.

“It must clearly detail how it will implement the strategy, with measurable objectives and achievable timelines.”

The minister of duty, Stephen Kinnock, responded by committing to a “national cancer plan”.

Jones later described himself as the “first MP in this parliament to call for a national cancer plan back in October 2024”.

Jones is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for breast cancer (chair), cancer, responsible credit and Thames Valley (chair).

Jones delivered his maiden speech on 4 September 2024 during a debate on the Budget Responsibility Bill.

In it, he said: “Members on these benches have a strong sense of social justice. This comes to us from many directions during our lives. Fifty years ago, I had an inspirational social and religious studies teacher, John Featherstone, to whom I am grateful for helping to instil these values in me.

“This sense of social justice will, I hope, guide me during my time in this House.”

He added: “The chancellor will know that our town centres and village centre… are finding life difficult. The cost of living crisis created by the previous government continues to limit people’s spending power, and online competition is ruthless.

“Business rates are a huge issue for our local retailers… and I do hope that the chancellor and Ministers will look into the reform of business rates at the earliest opportunity.”

Before entering parliament, Jones was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor on Wokingham Borough Council in May 2016. He served as leader of the opposition on the council from 2021 until 2022, when he became leader of the council, serving for one year until 2023.

Jones stood down as a councillor in 2024.

Jones stood unsuccessfully as the Liberal Democrat for the Wokingham constituency at the 2015 and 2017 general elections.

Political views

The Liberal Democrats (or Lib Dems) are a liberal political party, occupying the centre to centre-left ground in British politics.

The preamble to the Lib Dem constitution begins: “The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.”

The Liberal Democrat autumn conference in 2021 ratified a policy paper entitled What Liberal Democrats Believe. The paper, an attempt to expand on the constitution’s preamble, was framed around seven “principles and values”.

The party’s core values were described as “liberty, equality, democracy, community, internationalism and environmentalism.”

Jones was endorsed by local groups of the cross-party organisation Compass during the 2024 general election. Compass is a thinktank and campaign group. As part of its “Win as One” campaign in the 2024 election, local Compass groups backed a slate of progressive candidates who had pledged their support for electoral reform. The central aim of the initiative was to elect a “caucus” of MPs who would champion the cause of replacing the first past the post (FPTP) electoral system.

Jones is listed as a supporter of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for fair elections – a cross-party group of MPs and peers that campaigns for electoral reform. The group’s stated aims include replacing the first past the post (FPTP) voting system with a form of proportional representation, eliminating “dark money” and “undemocratic influence” from politics, and countering disinformation.

In December 2024, Jones voted in favour of the Elections (Proportional Representation) Bill – introduced by Liberal Democrat frontbencher Sarah Olney under the 10-minute rule procedure. The bill sought to “introduce a system of proportional representation for parliamentary elections and for local government elections in England”.

A total of 138 MPs supported the bill – with 136 opposed. Notably, 59 Labour MPs backed Olney’s bill.

Introducing the bill, Olney told the House: “First past the post is a broken and unfair system. This summer, the Labour party won a landslide election victory, securing 63% of seats in the House of Commons in return for just 34% of the vote.

“The system leaves millions of voices unheard and creates a divisive, adversarial political climate where collaboration is discouraged and accountability is often sidestepped.”

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Jones voted in favour of the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the 10-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union. In total, 13 Labour MPs joined the Liberal Democrats in supporting the motion, while the majority of the party abstained.

Assisted dying

Jones voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Social values and conscience issues

Jones was one of the 38 Liberal Democrat MPs who voted for the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 at its House of Commons third reading.

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Jones voted in favour of a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Before Politics

Clive Richard Jones was born in Gillingham, Kent. His family moved to Earley, near Wokingham, in 1974, and he attended Bulmershe School in Woodley.

In 1979, Jones started work as a management trainee for a toy manufacturer. He remained with the company for 27 years, serving as its managing director for 11 years.

Jones has also been involved with the British Toy and Hobby Association, serving as a director, chairman (2004-2006), and president (2011-2014).

In his 2024 maiden speech, Jones told the House: “Madam chair, from your chair you must be thinking that this 59th parliament has so many young faces, and I hope you will be including me in that category.

“I bet you are wondering, ‘What is his secret?’

“It is very simple: I worked in the toy industry for many years, running manufacturing and importing businesses. Playing with toys every day for the last 30 to 40 years is what makes me look so young.”

Personal Life

Jones has lived in the Wokingham area for over four decades. He met his wife while playing for the Henley hockey club in the 1980s and 1990s. They have two children.

Jones was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. He has raised over £800,000 for cancer charities.

In May 2025, Jones told the Mirror: “If a man feels a lump, don’t let anybody put you off and insist on having a test to rule out or rule in cancer.”

Trivia

Jones is the first non-Conservative MP to represent Wokingham since the constituency’s creation in 1885.