CFID Welcome New Co-Chairs

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MANCHESTER, 3 October 2021 – CFID (Conservative Friends of International Development) is delighted to announce the appointment of Baroness Liz Sugg and Anthony Mangnall MP as the next Co-Chairs.

CFID was founded exactly 10 years ago during the 2011 Conservative Party Conference by Baroness Anne Jenkin, Simon Nayyar, Matt Warman, and Andrew Palmer. 

During this time CFID, led throughout by Baroness Jenkin and for the past three years as a Co-Chair with Mark Garnier MP, has worked to promote effective international development and Conservative values. CFID aims to encourage enterprise, opportunity and aspiration for every family, no matter where they live; to foster a UK international development policy that tackles the causes and consequences of absolute poverty; and to encourage members to speak out about the value delivered to Britain by effective aid, free trade and conflict prevention.

Incoming Co-Chairs Liz and Anthony said, “We are delighted to be taking on the role of Co-Chairs of CFID.  We both passionately believe in the importance of international development.  We are facing huge global challenges that are impacting us here in the UK and across the world, from the COVID19 pandemic to the challenges of tackling climate change. We want to see the UK playing a strong role as a force for good in the world, and look forward to working with all of our members to promote the importance of international development to the Conservative Party and beyond.  We are very grateful for the work of our predecessors and look forward to their continued involvement in CFID.”

Baroness Jenkin, who also advocates tirelessly for the rights of women and girls everywhere recalls, “We set CFID up ten years as a home for the many Conservatives who believe that international development is not just the right thing but the smart thing to do. In this time, we have run numerous social action trips to countries such Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Bosnia, Tanzania which have shown many Conservative MPs and candidates, activists and members exactly why UK aid is so important and supported important relationships. One of the highlights has always been the opportunity to meet fellow members on our actions trips or at the many events CFID has organized over the past ten years.

None of this would’ve been achieved without the dedication and support of my fellow board members who generously donate their time and expertise to CFID, the CFID executive team members who have managed CFID on a day-to-day basis and of course, to our members and supporters.

Mark and I are delighted to be handing the reins of CFID over to Liz and Anthony at this time when their energy and commitment to international development is needed now more than ever.”

Baroness Sugg CBE 

Baroness Sugg was the Minister at the Department for International Development and then the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) from April 2019 until November 2020 when she resigned over the cuts to UK ODA. 

Baroness Sugg was also the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Girls’ Education from March to November 2020.

Baroness Sugg became a Conservative life peer on 30 August 2016.

She previously served as Director of Operations and Campaigns at Downing Street under David Cameron.

Anthony Mangnall MP 

After working in Parliament for William Hague during the early years of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition and during the Arab Spring, Anthony left to work in the shipping industry where he travelled extensively across West Africa, the Middle East and the Far East. 

In 2016 Anthony was offered the post of Senior Adviser to Lord Hague of Richmond and spent two years working on the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) and helping to close the UK’s domestic ivory market. Anthony was selected as candidate and then elected as the Conservative MP for the Constituency of Totnes and South Devon, where many of his family members continue to live and work. 

Anthony was elected to the International Trade Select Committee in 2020, a position which allows him to scrutinise future trade deals. He is also Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, and Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Photonics and Quantum

Liz and Anthony step into these roles immediately and will work closely with CFID Director Caroline Sargent to help ensure CFID continues to be a critical and constructive friend of the Conservative Party on international development policy and issues.

 

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