"I want to be North Devon’s voice in Parliament, and not Parliament’s voice in North Devon"

Ian Roome

Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon

About Ian Roome

Ian Roome first moved to North Devon in 1989 while serving in the Royal Air Force, after being posted to RAF Chivenor from RAF Laarbruch in Germany. Working in telecommunications, he was briefly drafted into the Ministry of Defence during the First Gulf War.

After completing his time in the RAF, he stayed in North Devon to start a family and work in the NHS: at first in acute and community mental health services across Ilfracombe, Braunton, Combe Martin and Lynton, then in social housing management, eventually becoming Head of the Royal Devon Hospitals Charity - raising a record £7 million for various NHS projects during his time at the helm.

Ian was instrumental in the fundraising campaign to build the Seamoor Unit, the new £3 million Chemotherapy and Day Treatment Unit at North Devon District Hospital, which was officially opened following a royal visit in 2015.

First elected as a Liberal Democrat Town Councillor in 2003, he was chosen as Mayor of Barnstaple three times, and went on to serve as a North Devon District Councillor, as Leader of North Devon Council, as a Devon County Councillor, and on the Devon & Somerset Fire Authority. A former school governor and lifelong volunteer, he remains a champion for a number of local organisations and charities in North Devon.

He was elected as Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon in 2024, re-taking the seat from the Conservatives with a majority of 6,744 votes.

"A working-class lad from a Sheffield council estate", Ian cares deeply about opportunity for all, fair access to NHS services, protecting North Devon's natural environment, and support for the armed forces. He is one of a small number of current MPs who have ever served in the ranks.

Outside of uniform, he has kept close ties to the armed forces and veterans' issues, working for SSAFA, raising money for the memorial garden at Chivenor, and joining the Royal Marine Commando Logistic Regiment in Norway for an Artic Training Exercise in 2019. As of 2024, he is among the new MPs to have been granted a place in the MOD's Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme.

In Parliament, he has campaigned extensively for investment to improve NHS buildings, intensive care and operating theatre facilities at North Devon District Hospital - the remotest acute hospital in mainland England. He is an active member of a number of All Party Parliamentary Groups including the APPGs for Charities (Co-Chair), Dentistry & Oral Health (Vice Chair), Celtic Sea (Vice Chair), Freight & Logistics, AUKUS, Radiotherapy, Rural Services, and the Great South West.

Ian lives in Pilton, in Barnstaple. He has two daughters, and one grandson. He enjoys watching rugby - especially Exeter Chiefs - exploring Exmoor National Park, and visiting North Devon's many spectacular beaches with his family. He loves travelling, and has toured Europe extensively by motorcycle.