Graham Tope, Baron Tope

Graham Norman Tope, Baron Tope, CBE (born 30 November 1943) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom.^[1][2] He was also a councillor in the London Borough of Sutton until 2014.^[3]

The Right Honourable The Lord Tope CBE
Official portrait, 2020
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 October 1994 Life Peerage
Member of the London Assembly for (London-wide)
In office 4 May 2000 – 1 May 2008
Preceded by	Assembly Created
Succeeded by	Caroline Pidgeon
Member of Parliament for Sutton and Cheam
In office 7 December 1972 – 8 February 1974
Preceded by	Richard Sharples
Succeeded by	Neil Macfarlane
Personal details
Born	(1943-11-30) 30 November 1943 (age 81)
Nationality	British
Political party	Liberal Democrats, Liberal Party (1972-1988)

In 1972, Tope captured the seat of Sutton and Cheam at a parliamentary by-election from the Conservatives for the Liberal Party. The Conservatives retook the seat at the February 1974 general election.^[4]

In November 1973, Tope was made spokesperson for the Liberal Party on health and social security and Northern Ireland.^[5]

Having been appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1991 Birthday Honours,^[6] Tope was created a life peer as Baron Tope, of Sutton in the London Borough of Sutton on 4 October 1994.^[7] He is a member of the Committee of the Regions of the European Union and is the only person in the country to have served as a member of a European Institution, a member of the UK Parliament, a member of a regional government structure and as a borough councillor all at the same time.^[8]

At the London Assembly, he was leader of the Liberal Democrat Group until 2006, member of the Audit Panel, and member of the Transport Committee. He was also a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, which oversees the Metropolitan Police.^[9]