Tom Gordon is the Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Gordon received 23,976 votes (46.1%). The Conservative candidate, Andrew Jones, received 15,738 votes (30.2%), while the Reform UK candidate, Jonathan Swales, secured 5,679 votes (10.9%). Gordon was elected with a majority of 8,238 votes.

The Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency is located in North Yorkshire. It was created in 1997 and held by the Liberal Democrats from its creation until 2010.

Gordon’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough was Andrew Jones of the Conservative Party. Jones represented the seat from 2010 to 2024.

Political Career

Gordon is a member of the joint committee on human rights (since December 2024).

Gordon has sat on the house of commons science, innovation and technology committee (2024-2025). He was also a member of the public bill committee for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill from January to March 2025.

In October 2026, Gordon criticised Ed Davey over the Liberal Democrat position on the pension triple lock, saying the argument that it should be kept to help millennials is “at best for the birds, and at worst downright insulting”.

In a post on X, Gordon said he had listened to Davey on BBC Radio 4‘s Today programme, and that “frankly, I think he missed the point”.

He concluded: “I joined this party because I care about fairness and tackling inequality, and that has to include inequality between generations.

“This line, and this decision, fails on both counts. Ed needs to think again.”

‘For the birds’: Lib Dem MP tells Ed Davey to ‘think again’ on triple lock defence

In the wake of the May 2026 local elections, Gordon expressed his frustration after the Liberal Democrats suffered losses in the North of England. He said it was “really frustrating when we hear the party leadership and Ed Davey talking about the Lib Dems being the antidote to Reform.”

He added: “In places like Wakefield where Reform has beaten us, I think we need a better message and quite frankly when we’re seeing stunts about Labour and the Tories needing to wake up and smell the coffee, quite frankly so do the Liberal Democrats too – because all is not rosy with us up here in the North.”

Gordon is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for adult social care, diabetes (chair), cabin air quality (chair) and infrastructure.

Gordon delivered his maiden speech on 16 October 2024 during a debate on access to primary care.

In it, he said: “The reason I got involved in politics is that the day before I started my master’s degree in public health, my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“We know that being able to access healthcare is the most important factor in getting a good outcome. Fortunately in our case, my mum was fine, but the complications of having gone through lots of surgery and chemotherapy still live with her today.

“As someone who lives with a chronic condition – earlier this year I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis – I know that getting through the door to see a GP can be the biggest barrier to getting a diagnosis, treatment and support.”

He added: “I think the reason health is so important to us is that in those moments of desperation, worry and anxiety when we reach out and go to that frontline of primary healthcare – when we see our GPs – we are truly human. Looking back at some of the more formative moments of my life and experience, my life has been changed when I have gone to a GP.”

Before entering parliament, Gordon was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor on Wakefield Council in 2019. He served as leader of the Liberal Democrat group of the council. He previously served as a councillor for the Manor Park ward on Newcastle City Council (2018-2019).

Gordon stood unsuccessfully as the Liberal Democrat candidate in the 2019 general election for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford, and in the 2021 Batley and Spen by-election.

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.”

Gordon 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 electoral system.

Gordon 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.

In May 2026, Gordon 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, Gordon 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, Gordon 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

Gordon 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).

In a statement issued after the bill’s second reading, Gordon said: “This is about empowering terminally ill people who are suffering unbearably, with no hope of recovery, to make the decision that is right for them.

“It’s about providing choice, alongside excellent palliative care, while ensuring robust safeguards to protect the vulnerable.”

In May 2026, Gordon wrote that the apparent demise of the bill showed “parliament at its worst”.

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Gordon 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

Born Thomas Anthony Gordon in Knottingley, West Yorkshire, he was the first person in his family to attend university.

He studied at Newcastle University, gaining a degree in biochemistry, and later completed a master’s degree.

Gordon worked in the scientific recruitment and health services research sectors. He also held policy roles for charities, including the Carers Trust, and worked as a researcher for a member of the European Parliament (MEP).

Personal Life

Gordon became involved in politics after his mother, a single parent, was diagnosed with breast cancer, which impacted the family finances. He moved home and studied part-time while helping to care for his mother and younger sister.

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

His mother, Adele Hayes, has also served as a Liberal Democrat councillor on Wakefield Council.

Trivia

Gordon is a keen runner and badminton player.

He has completed over a dozen long-distance charity runs, including the Paris and Berlin marathons, raising funds for charities like Cancer Research and the Alzheimer’s Society.