Here is the latest nomination in our series highlighting people David Cameron should consider appointing to the House of Lords.
If you would like to nominate someone, please email Jonathan Isaby with your suggestion, ideally including key arguments for
the nomination as well as biographical information. The sources of nominations will be treated confidentially where
requested.
No. 6: Rod Bluh
Robert Buckland writes:
"I would like to nominate Rod Bluh, the leader of Swindon Council. Rod, 53, is a Chartered Accountant and has been an active Conservative for many years, but his rise in local government has been dramatic. Elected in 2004, he entered the Swindon Cabinet as Lead Member for Economic Regeneration in 2005 and became Deputy Leader. In 2006, he was elected Leader of Swindon and under his leadership, the Council has improved dramatically and has delivered in a number of key areas, including:
- Continuous delivery of low Council Tax rises;
- The building of a new Central Library for Swindon, a project that was talked about for years under Labour but which we delivered on time and in budget;
- The signing of two major town centre regeneration projects.
"Rod is reaching out to parts of the community that have never had any contact with Conservatives – he is described by many people who are now supporting us for the first time as 'a breath of fresh air'. At this year’s Party Conference, he spoke at a number of fringe meetings on the subject of housing and local government. He has a high profile in the South West Region, and also serves on the Wiltshire Police Authority.
“Rod played a key part in steering through the Council’s recent groundbreaking decision to pull out of the Speed Camera Partnership. Rod leads a dynamic and forward-thinking Conservative administration that has continued to gain council seats since taking control in 2004. Rod Bluh’s experience in leading a largely urban Unitary Authority that has made huge progress in only a few years would be a real asset to the Conservative benches in the Lords”.
> Yesterday's nomination: Mimi Harker
