Tiverton & Minehead’s newly elected MP Rachel Gilmour has referred herself to the parliamentary standards commissioner after breaking parliamentary rules by making her son a member of her staff team.
The Liberal Democrat MP who won the new seat of Tiverton and Minehead in July 2024 says her son Henry Oliver helped her set up her office after she was elected in a “voluntary capacity.”
Mr Oliver was included in a parliamentary register of interests of members’ staff, external, as of 10 January 2025. It’s understood that he was not paid for this work. It is against parliamentary rules for MPs elected since 2017 to employ close family members.
Ms Gilmour, who is also a Mid Devon District Council member said: “This was an honest mistake, Henry was assisting me with the setting up of my office in a voluntary capacity after I was elected. As soon as I became aware of this mistake, I rescinded his pass and referred myself to the Standards Commissioner.”
The mistake came to light when Guido Fawkes, a right-wing political website published by British-Irish political blogger Paul Staines, contact Ms Gilmour regarding her son. On the same day – January 14 – when the mistake was realised, her office responded: “In answer to your question, it was today.”
James Wright, an Exmoor farmer and Southwest Chairman of the Conservative Rural Forum, said: “MPs are elected to serve their constituents, not to break the rules for personal gain. This blatant disregard for parliamentary standards raises serious questions about Ms Gilmour’s judgment and her ability to represent Tiverton and Minehead in the commons.
“The rules breach undermines confidence in Ms Gilmour and distracts from the real work of protecting local businesses, pensioners, and farmers from Labour’s damaging budget policies.
“Tiverton and Minehead needs strong leadership from someone who actually cares for our community. Not distractions caused by avoidable rule-breaking. This is not what our community deserves from its new MP.”
Ms Gilmour won the new constituency of Tiverton and Minehead, which was formed after boundary changes, with a 3.507 majority over the former Conservative MP, Ian Liddell-Grainger in July 2024.
It was her fourth time of standing for parliament, having previously been a Lib Dem candidate most recently in Taunton Deane in 2015 and previously in Totnes and Nottingham North.
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