Nicola Faye Richards

Nicola Faye Richards(born 19 December 1994) is a British Conservative Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich East since the 2019 general election.

Early life and career

Richards grew up in Dudley. She attended The Kingswinford School in Kingswinford. and later King Edward VI College, Stourbridge for sixth form. Richards studied politics at the University of Birmingham, graduating with an upper second class degree in 2016. While at university, she was a caseworker for Dudley South MP Chris Kelly, and later for his successor Mike Wood. After university, Richards worked as a communications officer for Margot James, Stourbridge MP. Richards then worked in public relations for the Jewish Leadership Council, and the Holocaust Educational Trust.

She was elected as a Conservative councillor for Kingswinford North and Wall Heath on the Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council in 2015, and was re-elected in 2019. She was the chair of the local Young Conservatives group and a vice-chair of the Dudley South Conservative Association. Richards supported Brexit in the 2016 UK EU membership referendum and campaigned with Vote Leave.

Parliamentary career

Richards was elected as MP for West Bromwich East at the 2019 general election with a majority of 1,593 (4.4%). It was a notionally safe Labour seat as it had previously elected a member of the party since its creation in 1974. Its previous MP was former deputy leader of Labour Party, Tom Watson, who had stood down at the election. Richards has been a member of the Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union, the Women and Equalities Committee since March 2020, and the Education Committee since September 2021.

Richards is a supporter of transgender rights and in August 2020 co-authored an article in ConservativeHome with fellow MP Alicia Kearns which called on the government to reform the Gender Recognition Act 2004.