Richard Holden is the Conservative MP for Basildon and Billericay, having first been elected to parliament at the 2019 general election. He previously represented the North West Durham constituency.  

Holden currently serves as shadow secretary of state for transport on the Conservative frontbench.

In the 2024 general election, Richard Holden won 12,905 votes (30.6%). The Labour candidate, Alex Harrison, received 12,885 votes (30.6%), while the Reform UK candidate, Stephen Conlay, secured 11,354 votes (27.0%). Holden was duly elected with a majority of 20 votes.  

The Basildon and Billericay constituency is located in Essex. Once considered a safe Conservative seat, the 2024 election resulted in a razor-thin majority – collapsing from 20,412 in 2019.

Holden’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Basildon and Billericay was John Baron, who represented the seat from 2010 to 2024. His immediate predecessor as the MP for North West Durham constituency was Laura Pidcock, a prominent frontbencher during Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure as Labour leader.

Holden was controversially selected as the Conservative candidate for the constituency during the 2024 general election. In the 2019-2024 parliament, Holden represented a North East constituency, North West Durham, which is nearly 300 miles away from Basildon and Billericay. Holden was accused of a “chicken run” – a pejorative term for when a sitting member of parliament decides not to seek re-election in their current constituency, and instead seeks selection for a different, usually safer, seat. Although Holden’s former North West Durham seat was abolished by the constituency boundary changes, his selection in Basildon and Billericay prompted considerable anger – among both local and national Conservatives. Holden had previously claimed to be “bloody loyal” to the North East.

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The saga, with Holden serving as Conservative chair at the time, was a notable sub-plot as the Tory election campaign unravelled.

Political Career

Holden was appointed shadow transport secretary in the July 2025 shadow cabinet reshuffle, the first of Kemi Badenoch’s tenure as leader of the party.

Holden previously served as shadow paymaster general and an opposition whip from November 2024 to July 2025.

Prior to the 2024 general election, which saw the Conservatives ejected from government, Holden was chair of the Conservative Party and cabinet minister without portfolio (appointed November 2023). He served as parliamentary under-secretary of state for roads and local transport from October 2022 to November 2023.

Holden resigned as Conservative chair on 8 July 2024, declining any opportunity to serve in the interim/caretaker shadow cabinet then constituted. In his letter of resignation, Holden said that there needed to be a “thorough review into the general election campaign”, but it would “best take place with a new set of eyes to help provide the clearest view”.

In February 2022, Holden was appointed parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. A PPS acts as an unpaid parliamentary assistant, providing a link between the senior frontbencher and backbench MPs. In September 2022, Holden was appointed PPS to the Department for International Trade.

Holden has introduced private members’ bills on a range of social and regulatory issues in his tenure as an MP, from animal welfare to marriage law.

• The Animal Shelters (Licensing) Bill, which Holden introduced in June 2025, sought to create a mandatory licensing and inspection scheme for animal rescue centres and sanctuaries to ensure they meet minimum animal welfare standards.
• The Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Bill, introduced December 2024, would make the marriage of first cousins illegal in the UK, citing public health concerns about genetic disorders.
• The Vehicle Registration Documents (Sale of Vehicle) Bill, introduced October 2024, aimed to tackle vehicle crime by requiring a seller’s address to be recorded on the registration document at the point of sale.
• The Virginity Testing (Prohibition) Bill, introduced December 2020, was part of a campaign to outlaw the medically baseless and harmful practice of “virginity testing”. The government subsequently included a ban in its Health and Care Act 2022.

Holden’s Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Bill was met with opposition from independent MP Iqbal Mohamed, who argued a ban on first-cousin marriages would not be “enforceable” and said these issues would be better addressed through education programmes.

Holden stated the children of first cousins were at greater risk of birth defects and that the practice should be prohibited on the grounds of public health.

Introducing the bill under the 10-minute rule procedure, Holden told the House: “Britain is not unique in having had immigration in recent decades from some regions where first-cousin marriage is prevalent, and therefore there has been a revival in the practice that we moved away from centuries ago.

“Norway has already banned the practice, and Sweden and Denmark are looking to do the same. Much like so-called virginity testing and hymenoplasty, it is clear that the practice is not really conducive to modern British society.”

In a June 2025 article for ConservativeHome, Holden added: “It is not racist to support reform, it is racist to accept a system that denies young and vulnerable people genuine freedom in their most intimate relationships…

“The accusations of bigotry aimed at those of us raising this issue are not new. They mirror the tactics used in response to the grooming gangs scandal, where those who dared to speak out were smeared, sidelined, and silenced.”

Holden was a member of the procedure committee from October 2024 to June 2025, and the public accounts committee from March 2020 to March 2022. He was elected to the executive of the 1922 committee of Conservative backbenchers in July 2021.

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Holden is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for freedom of speech, insurance and financial services, freight and logistics, media, pubs, and self-driving vehicles.

He delivered his maiden speech as MP for North West Durham on 20 January 2020 during a debate on economy and jobs. In it, he said: “I will work hard for everyone from every political tradition in my constituency over the next few years to repay the trust that they have placed in me.”

He added: “It is the greatest honour of my life to have been elected to represent the people of North West Durham. I hope to prove for them a worthy MP and a campaigning MP, and that I will deserve their support in elections for many years to come.”

Holden previously stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate for Preston in the 2015 general election, finishing second to Labour incumbent Mark Hendrick on 18,755 votes (56.0%).

Before becoming an MP, he worked extensively for the Conservative party, including as deputy head of press at CCHQ, and as a special adviser to cabinet ministers including Baroness Stowell, Baroness Evans, Sir Michael Fallon, Chris Grayling, and Gavin Williamson.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Tory leadership 2024: Holden supported Robert Jenrick’s candidacy in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Rishi Sunak following the party’s defeat in the 2024 general election.

Jenrick, a former immigration minister, positioned himself on the right wing of the party, advocating for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). He emerged as an early frontrunner, topping the first two parliamentary ballots. After reaching the final two, he was defeated in the membership vote by Kemi Badenoch, receiving 41,388 votes (43.5%) compared to Badenoch’s 53,806 (56.5%)

In October 2024, Holden told BBC One’s Politics Live programme that Jenrick had got a “slightly clearer vision of where he wants to take the country at the moment”.

Tory leadership 2022 (I): Holden supported Rishi Sunak’s candidacy in the Conservative Party’s July-September 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Boris Johnson, following the mass exodus of more than 60 frontbenchers.

Sunak, the former chancellor, warned against “comforting fairytales” regarding unfunded tax cuts. Although he won every round of the parliamentary ballots, securing 137 votes in the final stage, Sunak was defeated by Liz Truss in the membership vote, finishing with 60,399 votes (42.6%).

During the contest, Holden claimed that Sunak was “prepared to make the tough choices”.

Tory leadership 2022 (II): Holden supported also Sunak’s candidacy in the Conservative Party’s October 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Truss after just 45 days in office, following the financial and political tailspin triggered by her “mini-budget”. Unlike the summer contest, this election featured an expedited process requiring each candidate to secure at least 100 nominations from MPs to proceed. Sunak, having emerged as the clear frontrunner, was declared leader of the Conservative Party unopposed on 24 October.

Johnson confidence vote: In June 2022, Holden publicly declared their loyalty to the prime minister, Boris Johnson, ahead of a Conservative “no-confidence” in his leadership. The vote was triggered by discontent within the parliamentary party following the “partygate” scandal and the publication of the Sue Gray report. While the prime minister ultimately won the vote, the scale of the rebellion against him, with 148 of his own MPs voting to remove him, severely weakened his authority and presaged his resignation the following month.

In a February 2022 article for ConservativeHome, Holden stated that the public’s anger over lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street was “righteous”. He argued that while Johnson was genuinely “sorry”, his apology needed to be followed by a significant change in leadership style.

He wrote of Johnson: “We [Tory MPs] want him to succeed. We want him to win.

“But that means he’s got to listen to those MPs in Parliament and our members and voters in the country, and then use his judgement. No blinkers to drive hard through the Brexit quagmire now. This is a moment of reflection that must evolve into actions that drive us through to the next general election.”

Factional identity and party tradition

Richard Holden stated that he is “somebody from the right of the Conservative Party” upon his appointment as Conservative chair in November 2023.

Bright Blue: Holden has been listed as a parliamentary supporter of Bright Blue, an independent centre-right think tank and membership organisation that champions liberal conservatism in the UK. Since its founding in 2014, the organisation has expanded its reach through a new cross-party strategy.

Blue Collar Conservatives: Holden was previously listed as a member of the Blue Collar Conservatives group. This faction within the Conservative party was founded in 2012 by the former cabinet minister Esther McVey, but came to greater prominence following the 2019 general election. The group aimed to “champion working people and develop a conservative agenda to benefit the voters and communities most neglected by Labour”. In October 2022, McVey was succeeded by Lee Anderson as the group’s chair.

In a May 2021 article for ConservativeHome, Holden argued that the historic “Holy Trinity” of Labour’s support – large unionised industries, the influence of Methodism and Catholicism, and a strong grassroots party – in constituencies like North West Durham had eroded over decades.

He wrote: “The Labour activists on the ground may still believe that someone’s so-called ‘class’ defines their politics. That’s absolute nonsense and any Conservative who is idiotic enough to believe it needs their head examined.”

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Holden voted against the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the ten-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.

Assisted dying

Holden voted against 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

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Holden voted against 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

Born Richard John Holden on 11 March 1985 in Blackburn, Lancashire, he grew up in Grindleton. He attended local primary and grammar schools before studying government and history (BSc) at the London School of Economics (LSE), graduating in 2007.  

He joined Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) in 2007, working in various press office roles until 2015. He subsequently worked as a special adviser to several Conservative ministers between 2015 and 2019.  

Personal Life

Holden is reported to be in a relationship with Kate Ferguson, a lobby journalist.

Trivia

Holden won his Basildon and Billericay seat by just 20 votes in the 2024 general election.

He worked on Theresa May’s 2016 leadership campaign before becoming an MP.

In May 2021, Holden was fined £100 for dropping a cigarette butt. He had previously campaigned against littering, urging individuals not to be “litter tossers”.

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Holden was the first Conservative MP to be elected to his former North West Durham seat.