Ian Roome.

A steady constituency advocate who has recently drawn national attention for his railway campaigning, Ian Roome voted against the Railways Bill at Third Reading in June 2026 — backing Liberal Democrat amendments to the Bill but ultimately rejecting the final legislation over concerns about power concentration in Great British Railways and the public ownership model. Earlier this year, he presented a 3,000-signature petition to parliament over flood-damaged rail infrastructure in North Devon, and the Health Secretary publicly credited him with lobbying that helped secure a share of a £237m NHS boost for Devon in April 2026.

Roome votes with the Liberal Democrats on 100% of recorded divisions, but participates in just 55% of votes — below the Commons average — which may partly reflect the demands of committee work. His stance profile flags strong support for parliamentary and Lords scrutiny (both around 94%), and he deviates from his party by being notably less aligned with tough-on-crime positions (36% versus a party average of 62%). His speeches cluster heavily around economy and jobs, defence, and health — the last two reflecting his membership of the Defence Committee and the Select Committee on the Armed Forces Bill, where defence policy is a consistent focus.

Local news coverage over the past 90 days is broadly neutral across 117 articles, spanning crime, environment, and community topics, with no strongly positive or negative trend. Two high-impact articles from 2020 and 2023 in the news data relate to his predecessor, Selaine Saxby, and should not be read as reflecting on Roome. Debate transcripts for several recent votes — including multiple Railways Bill and Steel Industry amendments — are unavailable, limiting precise analysis of his stated positions on those measures.