Josh Babarinde is the Liberal Democrat MP for Eastbourne, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Babarinde won 23,742 votes, representing 52.1% of the vote. The Conservative candidate, Caroline Ansell, received 11,538 votes (25.3%), while the Reform UK candidate secured 6,061 votes (13.3%). Babarinde was duly elected with a majority of 12,204.

The Eastbourne constituency is located in East Sussex, South East England. It has frequently changed hands between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives since 1990, making it a long-term marginal seat.

The immediate predecessor MP was Caroline Ansell of the Conservative Party.

Political Career

Babarinde served as Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson from September 2024 to September 2025. He stepped down to focus on his role as party president.

Babarinde was elected to the position of party president in November 2025. He defeated Prue Bray with 68.8% of the vote, assuming office on 1 January 2026. Notable previous presidents include Lord Pack (2020-2026), Tim Farron (2011-2015) and Simon Hughes (2005-2009).

Upon his election, Babarinde stated: “I’m so grateful to Liberal Democrat members for electing me to serve as our next party president.

“With the traditional parties failing to stand up to Reform’s division, I’m fired up to help ensure our party is ready to be the last line of defence against them.

“I’ll be working across the party to broaden our reach, apply my youth work experience to engaging young voters ahead of votes at 16, and get battle-ready for next May’s elections for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Senedd and councils and Mayors across England.”

In a January 2026 New Statesman interview, Babarinde called for the Liberal Democrats to fight “for the soul of our country”.

Babarinde described his job as party president as to “make sure that we are being as open and ambitious as possible about having a footprint and taking that fight to all parts of the country, particularly to those beyond where we’re traditionally most comfortable as a party”.

Babarinde is a founding member of the Parliamentary Black Caucus. The cross-party group, inspired by the US Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), was established in 2025 to advance racial equality and representation for Black and minority ethnic people within parliament and across the UK.

Babarinde sat as a member of the House of Commons justice committee from October 2024 to November 2025.

Babarinde is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for households in temporary accommodation.

Babarinde delivered his maiden speech on 23 July 2024 during a debate on immigration and home affairs.

In it, he said: “Gorgeous sunrays aside, my town shines brightly in the many other accolades that it holds too. We are the home of the first roller-skating ice rink in the UK in 1875, the first five-a-side football tournament in 1957, and the birthplace of the Arctic roll in 1958. Most personally, Eastbourne is the town that made me.”

He added: “In my dad’s case, and for his brothers too, moving to Eastbourne was a ticket to opportunity. They loved their upbringing and Eastbourne embraced them.”

“I share that story to say that while Eastbourne’s hospitality traditions are often associated with the mighty bucket and spade, they go far deeper. Eastbourne’s true hospitality traditions are of generosity, welcome, tolerance, multiculturalism and compassion.”

Before entering parliament, Babarinde served as a Liberal Democrat councillor for the Hampden Park ward on Eastbourne Borough Council (elected in a by-election in May 2021). He stood down from the council in May 2023 to concentrate on his parliamentary campaign.

Babarinde contributed a chapter to The Battle for Liberal Britain (2022), a book edited by Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey.

Babarinde previously stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate in Bethnal Green and Bow in the 2019 general election. He placed third; Labour’s Rushanara Ali was re-elected with 72.7% of the vote.

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.”

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Babarinde 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.

Electoral reform

Fair elections APPG: Babarinde is listed as a member 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.

Proportional representation bill: In December 2024, Babarinde 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.”

Assisted dying

Babarinde 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

Babarinde was one of the six Liberal Democrat MPs who voted against the Tobacco and Vapes Act at its House of Commons third reading. This went against the majority of his party (38 Liberal Democrat MPs voted for the legislation).

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Babarinde 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.

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Babarinde was among the over 254 MPs to sign a cross-party letter calling for the government to immediately recognise the state of Palestine. The letter called on the prime minister and foreign secretary to recognise Palestine at the UN Conference then taking place in New York.

Before Politics

Born Joshua Thomas Aderele Babarinde on 20 June 1993 in Eastbourne, he attended Cavendish School, East Sussex College and studied politics and government at the London School of Economics.

After university, Babarinde undertook a social enterprise fellowship with Year Here, volunteering as a youth worker in East London. This experience led him to found Cracked It, an award-winning social enterprise that trained young people at risk of offending and young ex-offenders to repair smartphones.

Babarinde later worked as head of learning and innovation at the School for Social Entrepreneurs in 2020.

He was listed in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list for social entrepreneurs in 2019.

Personal Life

In 2024, PinkNews listed Babarinde among a number of out LGBTQ+ parliamentarians.

Babarinde was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to criminal justice, social enterprise and the economy.

At the time of his birth, Babarinde was named “Eastbourne’s cutest baby” in a town-wide competition.

Trivia

Babrinde was the first Black MP to be elected for the Liberal Democrats. Previous Liberal Democrat MPs Chuka Umunna and Sam Gyimah both defected from other parties.

In an October 2024 commons debate to mark Black History Month, Babrinde said: “As the first Black person ever elected as a Liberal Democrat MP – about time indeed; better late than never – it is an honour to stand here to mark Black History Month.”

Babarinde also shared an anecdote about being frequently mistaken for Ben Obese-Jecty, the Conservative MP for Huntingdon. He recalled an encounter in Portcullis House during their first weeks in parliament when Obese-Jecty approached him, introducing himself and noting that three people had already mistaken him for Babarinde.

Babarinde joked that the confusion had not happened in reverse – but he was mistaken for Obese-Jecty later that same day.

The case of mistaken identity even extended to Babarinde’s own Eastbourne constituency during the Eastbourne International Airshow, where a constituent approached him to praise his “distinguished career in the armed forces” – a reference to Obese-Jecty’s military background rather than his own

Babarinde’s immediate predecessor as MP for Eastbourne, Caroline Ansell, had been one of his school teachers.

In his 2024 maiden speech, Babarinde stated: “Mrs Ansell and I first met in the religious education classroom – room 116 in Cavendish school – when I was 15 years old.

“Perhaps she would have given me a detention or two had she known at that time that one day I would come for her next job at the ballot box some years later. But seriously, Caroline dedicated herself to Eastbourne, and I put my recognition of her commitment on the record.”