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Councillor dossier
Richard Barker
[email protected]01637 226195
Subject of a Cornwall Political Watch investigation. Cllr Barker is the subject of a dedicated Cornwall Political Watch dossier covering his role as Reform UK Deputy Group Leader, committee attendance, four approved committee-membership conflicts of interest, Companies House records, and the section 32 sensitive land interest on his Register. Read the Reform UK Deputy Group Leader investigation.
Data last refreshed:
Attendance
85%
present at meetings
Rank
65
of 87 councillors
Active red flags
4
open accountability flags
Conduct cases
1
code of conduct cases
Red Flags
Conflict of Interest25 Mar 2026
Potential conflict of interest: Vodafone UK — As a Vodafone employee, the councillor could influence corporate procurement decisions that might favor his employer in telecommunications contracts.
Evidenced March 2026
Conflict of Interest25 Mar 2026
Potential conflict of interest: Penhallow House Ltd — Running a hospitality business could create conflicts when reviewing corporate performance measures related to tourism promotion or planning enforcement.
Evidenced March 2026
Conflict of Interest25 Mar 2026
Potential conflict of interest: Penhallow House Ltd — Operating a commercial glamping business creates potential conflicts when scrutinizing council budgets for tourism, planning, or hospitality sector support.
Evidenced March 2026
Conflict of Interest25 Mar 2026
Potential conflict of interest: Vodafone UK — As a Vodafone employee, the councillor has financial interests in telecommunications infrastructure decisions that could benefit his employer over competitors like EE, BT, or Three.
Evidenced March 2026
Code of Conduct
6 Jun 2025
The complainant alleged that Councillor R Barker's register of interest incorrectly listed a land lease with Tregothnen Estate instead of Trewithen Estate, suggesting a breach of the Code of Conduct. The investigation found the error was not made by the councillor and no breach was demonstrated, so the complaint was rejected.
Outcome: no breach
Conflicts of Interest
Penhallow House Ltddirectorship· Corporate Finance and Performance Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Running a hospitality business could create conflicts when reviewing corporate performance measures related to tourism promotion or planning enforcement.
Evidenced March 2026
Penhallow House Ltddirectorship· Budget Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Operating a commercial glamping business creates potential conflicts when scrutinizing council budgets for tourism, planning, or hospitality sector support.
Evidenced March 2026
Vodafone UKemployment· Corporate Finance and Performance Overview and Scrutiny Committee
As a Vodafone employee, the councillor could influence corporate procurement decisions that might favor his employer in telecommunications contracts.
Evidenced March 2026
Vodafone UKemployment· Budget Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee
As a Vodafone employee, the councillor has financial interests in telecommunications infrastructure decisions that could benefit his employer over competitors like EE, BT, or Three.
Evidenced March 2026
Attendance
85%overall attendance
1 of the apologies were covered by a substitute.
| Committee | Held | Attended | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit Committee | 3 | 2 | 67% |
| Cornwall Council | 10 | 9 | 90% |
| Corporate Finance and Performance Overview and Scrutiny Committee | 8 | 7 | 88% |
| Pensions Committee | 3 | 2 | 67% |
| Standards Committee | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Sustainable Growth and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee | 1 | 1 | 100% |
Voting Record
Cornwall Council doesn’t publish how individual councillors vote. Its minutes record each decision, not who voted which way.
Committee Memberships
Election History
VulnerableScore: 66/100→ Stable
Won by 119 votes (5.7%)2.9% swing needed to unseat
The councillor's majority is 119 votes (5.73%), with a turnout of 38.06%. A swing of 2.86% would be required to unseat them, and the margin narrowed by 6.8 percentage points since the previous election. The field of seven candidates contributed to a fragmented vote, underscoring the councillor's vulnerability.
Cornwall Council Elections 2025 (2025) All 2025 results
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Charles Stuart Barker | Reform UK | 647 | 31.2% | ✓ |
| Howard Farmer | Liberal Democrat | 528 | 25.4% | |
| Adrian Harvey | Independent | 318 | 15.3% | |
| Ruth Jury | Conservative | 225 | 10.8% | |
| Robert James Cook | Green Party | 165 | 7.9% | |
| Alan Gordon Bowers | Independent | 99 | 4.8% | |
| Samuel Pritchard | Labour | 95 | 4.6% |
Turnout: 38.1% (2,077 of 5,457 electors) · 2 spoilt votes
Cornwall Council Elections 2021 (2021) All 2021 results
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrian Harvey | Conservative | 913 | 46.6% | ✓ |
| Howard Farmer | Independent | 667 | 34.0% | |
| Peter Mewton | Green Party | 381 | 19.4% |
Meeting Activity
Audit Committee - 25 September 2026
Present25 Sept 2026
Cornwall Council - 15 September 2026
Present15 Sept 2026
Standards Committee - 30 July 2026
Present30 Jul 2026
Cornwall Council - 21 July 2026
Present21 Jul 2026
Pensions Committee - 18 June 2026
Present18 Jun 2026
Audit Committee - 22 May 2026
Present22 May 2026
Cornwall Council - 19 May 2026
Present19 May 2026
Cornwall Council - 21 April 2026
Present21 Apr 2026
Pensions Committee - 12 March 2026
Present12 Mar 2026
Cornwall Council - 24 February 2026
Present24 Feb 2026
Apologies
Cornwall Council - 20 January 2026
Present20 Jan 2026
Audit Committee - 13 January 2026
Apologies (substitute sent)13 Jan 2026
Pensions Committee - 10 December 2025
Apologies10 Dec 2025
Present
Cornwall Council - 25 November 2025
Present25 Nov 2025
Other media mentions
No media coverage recorded.
In recent briefs
Daily-brief items naming Richard Barker (last 90 days)
- Richard Barker: low attendance
Red flag · 30 Aug 2026
News coverage
cornwalllive.com
Bid to shine a 'very big spotlight' on what Cornwall can offer the rest of the world - Cornwall Live
Cornwall Council's corporate finance committee endorsed the early stages of an International Strategy aimed at raising Cornwall's global profile, attracting inward investment, and boosting tourism and student appeal.
cornwalllive.com
Cornwall planning: Worried villagers call out EE over 55ft 5G tower - Cornwall Live
Cubert villagers oppose EE's 55-foot 5G tower near village hall, citing visual impact concerns and health worries.
cornwalllive.com
Reform UK wins by-election seat in Cornwall - Cornwall Live
Reform UK's Heinz Glanville won the St Columb Minor and Colan by-election with 408 votes.
Coverage from cornwalllive.com, devonlive.com, plymouthherald.co.uk. May not be exhaustive.
Profile
Richard Barker represents the St Newlyn East, Cubert & Goonhavern ward for Reform UK. His recorded meeting attendance stands at 22 out of 26 sessions, or 85%.
Barker has one conduct case on file, which resulted in no breach being found. No expense data is available for him. There are four active red flags listed, all relating to conflict of interest, and he has no recorded media mentions.
His election vulnerability score is 66 out of 100. He currently holds a majority of 119 votes (5.73%), with a turnout of 38.06% at the last election. A swing of 2.86% would unseat him, and his margin has narrowed by 6.8 percentage points since the previous election.
Generated by AI from public data. May contain errors.
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<iframe src="https://cornwallpoliticalwatch.com/embed/councillor/richard-barker" width="350" height="250" frameborder="0"></iframe>Frequently asked questions
- Who is Cllr Richard Barker?
- Richard Barker is a Cornwall councillor representing the St Newlyn East, Cubert & Goonhavern ward as a Reform UK member.
- What ward does Richard Barker represent?
- Richard Barker represents St Newlyn East, Cubert & Goonhavern on Cornwall Council.
- What is Richard Barker's meeting attendance rate?
- Richard Barker has been recorded as present at 85% of Cornwall Council meetings (22 of 26 indexed by Cornwall Political Watch).
- How can I contact Richard Barker?
- You can contact Richard Barker by email at [email protected]; by phone on 01637 226195. Cornwall Council also publishes contact details on the official members' page at democracy.cornwall.gov.uk.
- Are there any code-of-conduct cases involving Richard Barker?
- Cornwall Council's standards process has recorded 1 code-of-conduct case involving Richard Barker. Each case is publicly viewable; see the Code of Conduct section of this page for details.
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