Martin Wrigley is the Liberal Democrat MP for Newton Abbot, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Wrigley won 15,201 votes, representing 31.7% of the vote. The Conservative candidate, Anne Marie Morris, received 12,955 votes (27.0%), while the Reform UK candidate, Christopher Hilditch, secured 8,494 votes (17.7%). Wrigley was duly elected with a majority of 2,246.  

The Newton Abbot constituency is located in Devon, in the South West of England. The seat was held by the Conservative Party from its creation in 2010 to 2024.

Political Career

Wrigley is a member of the House of Commons science, innovation and technology select committee (since October 2024) – the committee responsible for examining the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and associated its public bodies.

Wrigley is also a member of the House of Commons finance committee (since January 2026). 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.

Wrigley is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for local growth, quantum technologies (vice chair), responsible business (co-chair), and UK innovation startups and SMEs (chair).

Wrigley delivered his maiden speech on 16 October 2024 during a debate on access to primary healthcare.

In it, he said: “As an engineer and a Liberal, I know that we do not need to accept broken systems. We can fix them, and by empowering people we can build a brighter and better future. I will do everything I can in this place to fix systems and help my constituents, and help to protect the beautiful constituency, the environment and its biodiversity as long as I am here.”

Before entering parliament, Wrigley was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor on Dawlish Town council in 2013. He stood down from this town council seat in 2025.

Wrigley was elected as a councillor on Teignbridge District Council in 2018. He served as leader of the council from 2023 to 2024.

Wrigley also served as a councillor on Devon County Council from 2021 to 2025.

Upon his election to parliament, therefore, Wrigley was a sitting councillor for Dawlish Town Council, Teignbridge District Council and Devon County Council.

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.”

Wrigley is a member of the Green Liberal Democrats, an official environmental group within the Liberal Democrats. It aims to “promote a green approach to policy formation within the Liberal Democrats” and “develop links with the wider green movement.” The grouping, formed in 1977 as a faction within the Liberal Party, is “committed to a net-zero and nature positive future and driving ambition across the national party and in local governance.”

Wrigley 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 May 2026, Wrigley signed an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, calling on the government to establish a “national commission on electoral reform”. Tabled by Alex Sobel as chair of the fair elections APPG, the amendment aimed to force a rethink of the first past the post voting system. At the time, Sobel described FPTP as “one of the biggest examples of a broken status quo in UK politics.” He invited colleagues to join this “common sense call to take a fresh look at how parliament is elected in modern Britain.”

In December 2024, Wrigley 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, Wrigley 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

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

Social values and conscience issues

Wrigley 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): Wrigley 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

John Martin Charles Wrigley grew up in a Royal Navy family.

Wrigley worked in the high tech industry for over 30 years before entering frontline politics.

Personal Life

Wrigley thanked his children, Zoe, Sam and Emily, in his 2024 maiden speech.

Trivia

Wrigley’s parents met in Downing Street in the 1950s while his mother was working in Winston Churchill’s office.