Sir Alexander Paul Beresford (born 6 April 1946) is a British–New Zealander politician who served as theConservativeMember of Parliament (MP) forMole Valley inSurrey from1997 to2024.^[3] He previously served as MP forCroydon Central from1992 to 1997.^[4]

Sir Paul Beresford
Member of Parliament forMole Valley
In office 1 May 1997 – 30 May 2024
Preceded by	Kenneth Baker
Succeeded by	Chris Coghlan (Dorking and Horley[a])
Parliamentary Under-Secretary Department of Environment
In office 20 May 1994 – 2 May 1997
Member of Parliament forCroydon Central
In office 9 April 1992 – 8 April 1997
Preceded by	John Moore
Succeeded by	Geraint Davies
Leader ofWandsworth Council
In office 1983–1992
Preceded by	Christopher Chope
Succeeded by	Edward Lister
Personal details
Born	Alexander Paul Beresford (1946-04-06)6 April 1946 (age 79) Levin, New Zealand
Nationality	British New Zealander
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Julie Beresford (2nd wife)
Children	4
Education	Waimea College
Alma mater	University of Otago

Alexander Beresford was born on 6 April 1946 inLevin in theHorowhenua District ofManawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand. He moved toNelson as a child, where he lived inRichmond, and attendedWaimea College in Richmond before attending theUniversity of Otago inDunedin. Beresford holds dual British and New Zealand citizenship.^[5]

Beresford was elected as a Councillor toWandsworth Borough Council in 1978,^[6] and was its Leader between 1983 and 1992, through much of theThatcher Government. He wasknighted in the1990 New Year Honours for political and public service.^[7]

In addition to his parliamentary career, Beresford is a practising dentist, operating his own private dental practice – The Beresford Clinic – inPutney, South West London. The practice received adverse publicity following a critical CQC inspection in 2021.^[8]

Beresford was selected to fight the safe Conservative seat ofCroydon Central following the retirement of former Cabinet ministerJohn Moore. Beresford was elected at the1992 general election with 55.4% of the vote and a majority of 9,650.^[9][10] He made hismaiden speech on 30 June 1992.^[11]

Beresford entered theMajor Government in 1994 as theParliamentary Under Secretary of State at theDepartment for the Environment^[6] and remained until the Government was defeated in 1997.

When the number of seats in Croydon was reduced from four to three before the 1997 general election, Beresford failed to be selected for the newly drawn Croydon Central, and instead fought the safe ConservativeMole Valley seat in Surrey, whereKenneth Baker was retiring. At the 1997 general election, Beresford was elected with 48% of the vote and a majority of 10,221.^[12]

Beresford was re-elected at the2001 general election with an increased vote share of 50.5% and a decreased majority of 10,153.^[13] He was again re-elected at the2005 general election with an increased vote share of 54.8% and an increased majority of 11,997.^[14]

Before the2010 general election, Beresford was a member of theCommunities & Local GovernmentSelect committee. At the2010 United Kingdom general election, Beresford was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 57.5% and an increased majority of 15,653.^[15] In 2012, Beresford was named by theConservative Home website as one of a minority of loyal Conservative backbench MPs not to have voted against the government in any significant rebellions.^[16]

Beresford, while serving as a backbencher, has been successful in utilising Private Members Bills and carefully chosen amendments to government legislation to achieve over ten legal changes which the BBC's Mark D'Arcy described as collectively having '...a significant impact'.^[17] These primarily but not exclusively focused on child protection, an issue Beresford has campaigned on for decades.

At the2015 general election, Beresford was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 60.6% and an increased majority of 25,453.^[18]

He campaigned for a Remain vote during the 2016 referendum on EU membership.^[19]

At the snap2017 general election Beresford was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 61.9% and a decreased majority of 24,137.^[20] He was again re-elected at the2019 general election with a decreased vote share of 55.4% and a decreased majority of 12,041.^[21]

In 2021 Beresford introduced a further Private Members Bill – the Local Government (Disqualification) Bill – intended to prevent individuals who have been given non custodial sentences for sexual offences from sitting as local councillors or mayors. This Bill received the backing of the government and completed successful passage through the Commons in January 2022. It subsequently passed through the House of Lords and received Royal Assent in April 2022.^[22]

In July 2022, during thepolitical crisis caused by thePincher Scandal, Beresford announced that he had lost confidence in Prime MinisterBoris Johnson and felt he should resign.^[23] Beresford went on to backRishi Sunak in both thefirst andsecond Conservative Party leadership contests of 2022.^[24]

Beresford announced in early 2023 that he would step down at the2024 general election.^[25]

During the media coverage of theUnited Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal, it was revealed that Beresford, who is a practising dentist, designated his west London property (which includes his dental surgery) as his second home, allowing him to claim allowances of three-quarters of the running costs of the property from the taxpayer.^[3][26]

Beresford has a son from his previous marriage who lives in New Zealand. He and his present wife Julie have two sons and one daughter.^[6]

• Sir Paul Beresford Conservative Party
• Mole Valley Conservatives
• Your representatives – Paul BeresfordArchived 14 January 2011 at theWayback Machine BBC Democracy Live
• Profile atParliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament atHansard
• Voting record atPublic Whip
• Record in Parliament atTheyWorkForYou

• MP fears 'truckloads of waste' BBC News, 7 December 2006 – Concern over an incinerator in Surrey