The Earl Russell
Liberal Democrat
Member of the House of Lords
M
Earl Russell's full title is The Earl Russell. His name is John Francis Russell, and he is a current member of the House of Lords.
Allowance claims · 2026
Data not yet released for 2026 — the Lords Finance Office publishes monthly CSVs ~6-8 weeks after month-end.
Lords votes · 2026
No Lords votes recorded for 2026.
Recent Hansard contributions · latest 25
2026-04-28
National Emergency Plan for Fuel
My Lords, the double blockade of the strait is still in place and shows no signs of easing. The national fuel emergency plan was last updated in April 2024, yet current pressures across aviation fuel, diesel and fertilisers are unique and complex. What c
2026-04-22
British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme
My Lords, I thank the Minister for her response. I pick up on a point that my noble friend made as part of her formal response to the Statement in relation to the retail energy market. The Minister may need to go away and think about it, and that may wel
My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Nagaraju, on a fine maiden speech, and I recognise his work in the field of AI. I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, for bringing this debate, and I thank her and others for their cont
2026-04-22
Low-carbon Heat Networks
My Lords, we welcome the Statement made yesterday by the Energy Secretary that the Government will be working to accelerate the £15 billion warm homes plan. We support the work that the Government are doing on heat networks but, in light of the current e
2026-04-21
Electricity: Domestic Pricing
My Lords, we cannot afford continued fossil fuel dependency. We welcome the move from legacy contracts to cheaper ones. Indeed, my party proposed similar over a year ago. I support the Greenpeace Power Shift RAB model to remove gas, the most expensive co
2026-04-16
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I will respond to the amendments in this group on waste crime and fly-tipping. As we know, nearly one-fifth of all our waste ends up in the hands of criminals. The rising number of mega tips and the speed at which they are now appearing show th
2026-04-16
Data Centres: Energy Demand
My Lords, with Ofgem warning that proposed data centres are seeking 50 gigawatts, exceeding our current peak demand, my view is that, as yet, inadequate assessments have been made by government and regulators of AI’s climate impacts. Does the Minister ag
2026-04-16
Data Centres: Energy Demand
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that projected increases in energy demand from data centres do not compromise the achievement of their targets for clean power by 2030 and for net zero by 2050.
My Lords, Norway supplied 47% of our total gas consumption in 2025 and the UK is increasingly dependent on its offshore wind infrastructure and interconnectors as part of our energy mix. What urgent steps are being taken to strengthen our energy security
My Lords, I will respond to the Energy Prices Act 2022 (Extension of Time Limit) Regulations 2026 and the related Utilities Act 2000 (Amendment of Section 105) Order 2026, which has already come into force as a companion SI. I thank the Minister for his
2026-03-26
Middle East: Economic Update
My Lords, the Climate Change Committee was clear last week that the cost of another oil price crisis would be greater than the cost of reaching net zero by 2050, so these Benches fully support the need to roll out renewables at a faster rate. However, w
2026-03-26
AI Growth Lab
My Lords, the Government have conspicuously rebranded their AI Safety Institute as the AI Security Institute and have been shifting their language from “safety” to “growth”. Can the Minister confirm that safety obligations will be among the regulatory re
2026-03-25
Fuel Supplies: War in Iran
My Lords, does the Minister agree that while the conflict with Iran has driven up oil and gas prices, this is not currently a fuel supply crisis, and motorists and households should therefore continue to purchase fuel and gas as usual? If the conflict pe
My Lords, I note at the outset that on these Benches we welcome the direction of travel as set out in this SI. These regulations aim to modernise the contracts for difference scheme and strengthen the clean industry bonus, previously the sustainable indu
My Lords, I rise to respond to the Warm Home Discount (England and Wales) Regulations 2026. As we all know, we are at the start of another fossil fuel price crisis, at a time when individuals and the state can least afford it, so bringing down energy bil
2026-03-19
UK Energy Sources and Cost of Energy
My Lords, I welcome the measures that the Government have already taken, particularly around reducing the cost of heating oil. Does the Minister agree that it is important that we work with allies and partners to encourage all involved to stop targeting
2026-03-18
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his detailed reply. I recognise that, as he says, things are happening in this space, but more needs to happen. He regarded as a mark of success the fact that six companies have had their bonuses suspended; actually, I
2026-03-18
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I shall speak to this group of amendments on pollution—and I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, for supporting them. I declare my interest as a board member and director of the Water Retail Company. I listened carefully to the
2026-03-18
Crime and Policing Bill
2026-03-18
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I will speak very briefly. We listened carefully to what the Minister said in Committee and this is a genuine attempt to rewrite the amendment to make it less prescriptive and more flexible for the Government and Ministers. I welcome the letter
My Lords, the draft Electricity Supplier Payments (Amendment) Regulations make technical but necessary changes to the levies that electricity suppliers pay to fund three of the UK’s key energy schemes: the contracts for difference—CfD—scheme, the capacit
This is not a debate. This is an SI about the mechanism for contracts for difference. It is not a debate on energy policy.
2026-03-17
Renewables Obligation (Amendment) Order 2026
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his introduction. I begin by recognising that this draft Renewables Obligation (Amendment) Order 2026 makes a specific and, on the face of it, sensible change in the way the renewables obligation is updated over time. B
2026-03-12
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) (Extension to Maritime Activities) Order 2026
It is not for me to respond to what is a question for the Minister. The Government’s impact assessment estimates central abatement investment of around £22 million, with administrative costs of £179 million over the period. The allowance-purchase cost is
2026-03-12
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) (Extension to Maritime Activities) Order 2026
There is a reduction in place in Northern Ireland. There is not specific legislation around that.
Source: hansard.parliament.uk via hansard-api. Snippets shown
verbatim from the search API; click any debate title for the full record.
Register of Interests · 4 entries on file
Declarations under the Lords Code of Conduct. Free text — no monetary values, no hours worked. A declaration that an interest exists, not a claim about its size.
Category 1: Remunerated employment etc.
-
Board Member and Director, The Water Retail Company Limited
Retail Company Limitedregistered 2024-05-21 · amended 2025-04-05
-
Professional Freelance Photographer
Professional Freelance Photographerregistered 2023-07-19 · amended 2025-04-05
Category 2: Shareholdings etc. (c)
-
Residential holdings in London E11
Residential holdings in London E11registered 2023-07-19 · amended 2025-04-05
Category 3: Land and property
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Residential holdings in London SW4 from which rental income is received
Residential holdings in London SW4 from which rental income is receivedregistered 2023-07-19 · amended 2025-04-05
Source: UK Parliament Members API (Lords register). Refreshed weekly.
Read the full
Lords Code of Conduct
for what each category covers and the disclosure thresholds.
Party history
2023-06-19 → present
Liberal Democrat
current
Government posts
None recorded.
Opposition posts
2024-01-09 → present
Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Energy and Climate Change)
Committee memberships
2023-07-12 → 2024-01-31
Built Environment Committee
2024-01-31 → present
Environment and Climate Change Committee
Contact
Parliamentary office
contactholmember@parliament.uk
020 7219 5353 · House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW
020 7219 5353 · House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW
APPGs (2026) · 1 active officership(s)
| Group | Role(s) | Funders | Officers in group | Next deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sustainable Plastics
Subject Group
|
Co-Chair | — | 4 | 2026-10-17 |
One row per active APPG. Funder names link out via the
/appgs Top secretariat funders panel — click any funder
there to open its full relationship graph. Officer matching is name-based against
the parliament.uk register text and may miss titled / hyphenated variants.
Written parliamentary questions · 2026
Showing
10
of 10 tabled
10 answered(100.0%)
4
departments
2026-04-20
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Climate Change
Answered
2026-04-15
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Strait of Hormuz: Tankers
Answered
2026-03-26
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Solar Power: Agriculture
Answered
2026-03-25
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Gas Fired Power Stations
Answered
2026-03-25
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Gas Fired Power Stations
Answered
2026-03-25
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Fly-tipping: Ashford
Answered
Source: UK Parliament Members API. The amber "interest" tag is set
by Parliament's own system when the asking member has a register entry
it deems related — typically a paid role or directorship in the
sector being asked about. Click any "i" icon to see the full
question and the department's answer.
Bills sponsored & supported · 2026
0 bills
0 as lead sponsor
0 as supporter
No bills sponsored or supported in 2026.
Source: UK Parliament Bills API. "Lead" sponsor is the
primary mover (sortOrder = 1); "Supporter" rows are
members of either House who
backed the bill at introduction. Year is the bill's first-reading
date.
Historic bills (all-time)
0 bills
0 as lead sponsor
0 as supporter
No bills sponsored or supported on record.
Same source as the year-scoped panel above, but unconstrained by
year. The "Sponsored" tag = lead sponsor; "Supported" = backed at
introduction. Sorted newest first.