Ben Maguire

Cornish politician

Ben Maguire MP
Official portrait, 2024

Member of Parliament for North Cornwall
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 July 2024
Preceded by	Scott Mann
Majority	10,767 (20.7%)

Personal details
Born	(1991-08-10) 10 August 1991 (age 33) Truro, Cornwall, England
Political party	Liberal Democrats

Benedict Maguire (born 10 August 1991) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Cornwall since the 2024 general election.

Early life and career

Maguire was born in Truro and grew up in Withiel. His mother was a teacher and his father was a doctor, both working in Bodmin,^[1] where he attended St Mary's School.

Maguire worked as a parliamentary aide and constituency caseworker for Dan Rogerson and later Ian Swales. He also had research placements in the Hong Kong Legislative Council and the United States Senate. More recently, Ben has worked as a solicitor.^[2]^[3]

Parliamentary career

In February 2024, Maguire was named as the Liberal Democrats' prospective parliamentary candidate for the North Cornwall.^[2] At the 2024 general election, Maguire was elected to Parliament as MP for North Cornwall, receiving 47.8% of the vote and a majority of 10,767.^[3] The incumbent Conservative MP was unseated with a vote swing of 24.9% towards Maguire.^[4]

Ben Maguire was sworn in after making the parliamentary oath in Cornish.^[5]^[6]^[7] On 15 July, Andrew George and Ben Maguire submitted a letter in support of Cornish devolution to the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. Maguire described existing devolved responsibilities as window-dressing that didn't go far enough. He also stated his support for a Cornish Assembly akin to the Welsh Senedd, and rejected the notion of a Mayor of Cornwall.^[7]^[8]

Personal life

Maguire is married to his husband.^[9]

References

^ "Liberal Democrats select Cornish campaigner as election candidate". Cornwall Live. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
^ ^a ^b McCrum, Kirstie (6 February 2024). "Lib Dems select Cornish campaigner as election candidate". Cornwall Live. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Ben Maguire – The Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for North Cornwall". Retrieved 5 July 2024.
^ "North Cornwall - General Election Results". BBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
^ "Cornwall's new MPs take their oath in the House of Commons in English and Cornish". Cornish Times. 11 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
^ "All six of Cornwall's new MPs swear oaths in Cornish". BBC News. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Calls for Cornwall to get devolution deal akin to Wales". Sky News. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
^ Maguire, Ben [@BenMaguireNC] (15 July 2024). "I'm calling for Cornish devolution to be included in the King's Speech. I'm a strong believer that local communities are best placed to make their own decisions. I have written to the Prime Minister asking him & his government to seize this historic opportunity for Cornwall. 👇" (Tweet). Retrieved 19 July 2024 – via Twitter.
^ "Losing Tory MP cries as she says she was 'swimming against the tide'". Falmouth Packet. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.