Kulveer Singh Ranger, Baron Ranger of Northwood (born 21 February 1975)[1] is an English strategy and communications executive. A board member of the trade association techUK,[2] he has been a member of the House of Lords since 2023.

The Lord Ranger of Northwood
Official portrait, 2023
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
11 July 2023
Life peerage
Personal details
Born
Kulveer Singh Ranger

(1975-02-21) 21 February 1975 (age 49)
London, England
Political partyConservative
Alma materUniversity College London
OccupationManagement consultant
Known forDeveloping the Oyster Card and the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme for London

Career

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Ranger was the unsuccessful Conservative parliamentary candidate in Makerfield at the 2005 general election.[3] He unsuccessfully stood in the ward of Syon at the 2006 Hounslow London Borough Council election.[4]

After Boris Johnson's victory in the 2008 London mayoral election, Johnson selected Ranger to be his director for transport policy. Ranger had previously managed the implementation of the Oyster card with Transport for London in 2003.[5] In 2011, he became Director for Environment and Digital London, with his work resulting in a record fall in bike thefts,[6] in addition to a number of new electric car charging points in London to encourage a higher take up of electric vehicles.[7]

Ranger was part of the Conservative A-List for the 2010 general election but did not stand.[8] He was on the long list to be the Conservative party candidate for the 2021 London mayoral election.[9][10]

House of Lords

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Ranger was nominated for a life peerage in Boris Johnson's resignation honours list.[11][12] On 11 July 2023, he was created Baron Ranger of Northwood, of Pimlico in the City of Westminster,[13] and was introduced to the House of Lords on 20 July.[14]

In May 2024, the House of Lords Conduct Committee found that Ranger had drunkenly bullied and harassed two members of parliamentary staff in the House of Commons Strangers' Bar in January 2024. The committee recommended that Ranger be suspended for three weeks and denied access to the bars of the House of Lords for twelve months.[15] Ranger resigned the Conservative whip in the Lords and sat as a non-affiliated peer.[16][17] The committee's recommendations were approved by the House of Lords on 18 July.[18] Following his suspension, the Conservative whip was restored to Ranger on 9 August.[17]

Family and early life

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Ranger is a Sikh, born in Hammersmith in West London, the son of Indian parents. His grandfather Gurnam Singh Sahni set up the first British-Asian newspaper, The Punjab Times, in the mid-1960s.[19]

Ranger gained an honours degree in architecture from University College London. He also has a business diploma from Kingston Business School.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Kulveer Ranger". api.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 12 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Our board". techUK. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Result: Makerfield". BBC News. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Local Election Results 2006: Hounslow". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  5. ^ Waugh, Paul (5 April 2012). "Transport job for Sikh who set up Oyster card". Evening Standard. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  6. ^ "Police record fall in bike thefts". BBC News. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Electric car charging points now available in Magdalen Street and The Cut". London SE1. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  8. ^ Ross, Colin (6 April 2006). "Conservative A-List and selections". Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  9. ^ Elliott, Matthew (9 May 2018). "Elections over, the Tories must find their next London mayor". City A.M. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  10. ^ Shipman, Tim (3 June 2018). "London mayoral election: Male, pale and stale candidates off the list". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  11. ^ "Resignation Peerages 2023" (PDF). gov.uk. 9 June 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  12. ^ "No. 64120". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 July 2023. p. 14502.
  13. ^ "No. 64115". The London Gazette. 17 July 2023. p. 14090.
  14. ^ "Introduction: Lord Ranger of Northwood". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 831. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. 20 July 2023. col. 2443.
  15. ^ "The conduct of Lord Ranger of Northwood". House of Lords Conduct Committee. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  16. ^ Scott, Geraldine (17 May 2024). "Tory peer to be banned from parliament's bars after drunken abuse". The Times. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Parliamentary career for Lord Ranger of Northwood". MPs and Peers. UK Parliament. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  18. ^ McLeod, Jane (18 July 2024). "Tory peer banned from Lords bar over drunken bullying and harassment". The National. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  19. ^ Ranger, Kulveer Singh (31 May 2018). "Tributes paid to gurdwara and Punjab Times founder". Eastern Eye. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  20. ^ Hopkirk, Elizabeth; Mendick, Robert (13 April 2012). "A future Tory Cabinet ... at least according to Tatler". The Standard. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
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Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen
Baron Ranger of Northwood
Followed by