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David Munro (police commissioner)

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Major
David Munro
Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner
In office
12 May 2016 – 12 May 2021
Preceded byKevin Hurley
Succeeded byLisa Townsend
Chairman of Surrey County Council
In office
21 May 2013 – 19 May 2015
Succeeded bySally Marks
Personal details
BornJuly 1948 (age 76)
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations
Conservative (1995–2019)[1]
Residence(s)Farnham, Surrey
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch/serviceThe Corps of Royal Engineers
Years of service1973-1991
RankMajor

David John Munro (born July 1948) was Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) from 2016 to 2021.[2][3] A former Conservative PCC, he stood as an independent candidate in 2021 and was defeated.

Background and career

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He was educated at Bishop Wordsworth's School and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he read Engineering and History, graduating in 1972.[4][5] He spent 18 years in the Royal Engineers, rising to the rank of major.[4] After leaving the military — partly due to his sexuality,[6] as LGBTQ+ personnel could not serve openly in the UK until 2000 — he was approached and interviewed for a further career in espionage but being gay meant that MI5 were not interested in interviewing him further.[6]

He was elected to Waverley Borough Council and to Farnham Town Council in 1995,[1] having been a Conservative activist since 1987,[1] and to Surrey County Council in 1997,[1][7] standing down shortly after being elected as PCC.[7]

In December 2018, he was unsuccessful in his bid to gain automatic reselection as the Conservative candidate;[8] the following March he lost his reselection battle to Charlotte Chirico, a solicitor.[9] After his deselection, he left the Conservative group at the Association of PCCs to join the independents.[1] In September 2019 he was expelled from the Conservative Party for having “campaigned against Conservative Party candidates”, which he denied.[1] The next PCC elections had been scheduled for 7 May 2020 but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, the elections were postponed to May 2021,[10] with a further party reselection in February 2021 choosing Lisa Townsend as the Conservative candidate against him.[11]

Personal life

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Munro is openly gay and has been in a relationship — and subsequently a civil partnership[6] — with a professor of classics[6] since before he left the army.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Crime commissioner an independent after Tory party expulsion". Farnham Herald. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Surrey's new police and crime commissioner David Munro vows to make Surrey Police 'a force to be proud of' after ousting Kevin Hurley". Get Surrey. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Conservative candidate David Munro defeats incumbent Kevin Hurley in Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner election". Your Local Guardian. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  4. ^ a b "County Councillor sets sights on Police Commissioner post". Esher and Walton Conservatives. 30 January 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  5. ^ Cambridge University List of Members Up to 31 December 1988
  6. ^ a b c d e "IDAHOTB - My Story - David Munro". LGBT+ Conservatives. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Mr David Munro". Surrey County Council. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Police commissioner loses secret reselection ballot". Farnham Herald. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Munro loses crime commissioner vote". Farnham Herald. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  10. ^ "PCC elections". Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner.
  11. ^ "Lisa Townsend selected as Surrey's Conservative PCC candidate". In Your Area. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
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