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Steff Aquarone | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Chair of theLiberal Democrats Parliamentary Party | |
| Assumed office 9 September 2025[1] | |
| Leader | Ed Davey |
| Preceded by | Lisa Smart |
| Member of Parliament forNorth Norfolk | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Duncan Baker |
| Majority | 2,585 (5.5%) |
| Liberal Democrat Group Leader on Norfolk County Council | |
| In office 20 April 2020 – 17 May 2021 | |
| Deputy | Dan Roper |
| Preceded by | Ed Maxfield |
| Succeeded by | Brian Watkins |
| Member ofNorfolk County Council for Melton Constable | |
| Assumed office 4 May 2017 | |
| Preceded by | David Ramsbotham |
| Majority | 199 (6.2%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Steffan Luke Aquarone (1984-05-12)12 May 1984 (age 41) Blickling, Norfolk, England |
| Party | Liberal Democrats |
| Spouse | Jill |
| Education | Norwich School |
| Alma mater | University of Warwick |
| Profession | Entrepreneur |
Steffan Luke Aquarone[2][3] (born 12 May 1984[4]) is a BritishLiberal Democrat politician who has beenMember of Parliament (MP) forNorth Norfolk since2024.
He is also an entrepreneur in film and technology. His projects involve collaboration between large groups of people with a common interest[5] and are often crowd-source financed,[6] the most notable example being feature-filmTortoise in Love which was made by a village in Oxfordshire.[7]
Born and raised inBlickling, Norfolk,[8] Aquarone was educated at home as a member ofEducation Otherwise until the age of 12, before being privately educated atNorwich School. He then read politics and international relations at theUniversity of Warwick, graduating with a BA in 2006.
In 2004, Aquarone co-founded media business Ephex Media Limited with two fellow students at theUniversity of Warwick. Ephex Media received investment from the Advantage Early Growth Fund in 2007[9] in order to acquire regional post-production facility Oakslade Studios.[10] The company made and edited corporate films for brands including Land Rover, Vodafone, Massey Ferguson and American Express. The business was placed into administration in 2008.[11]
Aquarone co-owned feature film production company Immense Productions with authorGuy Browning.[12] Their feature filmTortoise in Love, on which Aquarone was producer,[13] was released in the UK in 2012.[14] Immense Productions was dissolved in November 2015.[15]
In 2011, Aquarone co-founded peer-to-peer[16] mobile payments platform Droplet.[17] In 2013, Droplet was named among the 'Top 25 UK Startups' by influential technology blogMashable.[18] Droplet closed in 2016 after the founders were unable to scale it to become profitable.[19]
He has worked through Econsultancy[20] with brands like Sony, Ralph Lauren, and General Mills and gives talks on innovation, entrepreneurship and digital transformation. Econsultancy sold to Centaur Media PLC[21] in 2012.
He joined online video platform Buto in 2010[22] becoming strategy director in 2013. Buto sold to TwentyThree in 2019.[23]
In 2014, Aquarone was named by theDaily Mirror as one of the Top 20 most influential media figures under 30.[24]
Aquarone writes on digital marketing topics including online video. In 2012 he wrote "Online Video: A Best Practice Guide" for digital publishers Econsultancy.[25]
In 2017, with his sister Freya, he publishedFourth to First: How to win a local election in under six months. It recounts how he won a council ward for the Liberal Democrats at his first attempt, even though the party finished fourth in the previous contest for the ward.[26]
On 4 May 2017, he was elected as county councillor for theMelton Constable division ofNorfolk County Council.[27] He was elected deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council.[28]
He stood in the2019 general election in the seat ofMid Norfolk finishing third. In April 2020 he replaced Ed Maxfield as group leader onNorfolk County Council.[29] He stood down as leader following the2021 election.[30][31]
In September 2022, the Liberal Democrats picked him as theprospective parliamentary candidate forNorth Norfolk at the2024 general election.[32] He won the election, gaining the seat from the Conservatives, with 19,488 votes (41.4%) and a majority of 2,585 over the second-placed Conservative candidate. There were five candidates and aturnout of 66%.[33]
He was elected Chair of theLiberal Democrat Parliamentary Party in September 2025 beatingAnna Sabine, who isEd Davey'sparliamentary private secretary, by 44 votes to 27.[1]
Aquarone, Steffan Luke
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNorth Norfolk 2024–present | Incumbent |
