Rachel Gilmour.

Gilmour has twice broken with the Liberal Democrats since arriving in Parliament — voting against the Tobacco and Vapes Bill at Second Reading in November 2024, then backing a devolution-focused new clause to the assisted dying bill in June 2025 that her party rejected. Neither rebellion suggests ideological drift; both reflect a pattern of scepticism about how Westminster legislation affects devolved nations and local communities. Beyond the chamber, she has pressed the government on unregulated foreign fishing inside the 12-mile limit, demanded the Chancellor act on rural heating oil costs, and was credited with helping push a government U-turn on inheritance tax rules affecting Somerset farmers.

A 99.2% party-line voter in the votes she attends, Gilmour is otherwise a reliable Lib Dem. Her participation rate of 42% is significantly below the Commons average, which will concern constituents who track attendance, though MPs in demanding rural seats with large caseloads sometimes trade floor votes for local work. Her speeches — 220 contributions across 158 debates — cluster around economy and jobs, local government, social care, and health. She votes more consistently in favour of public health measures than most of her Lib Dem colleagues, but deviates from the party average on progressive taxation and NHS funding, scoring lower than the party norm on both.

Gilmour sits on the Public Accounts Committee, which scrutinises government spending and value for money — consistent with a voting record strongly opposed to tax increases and sceptical of fiscal opaqueness. Her news coverage over the past 90 days is low-impact, with recent stories concentrated in transport and culture rather than her headline issues of farming and rural costs. Earlier high-profile coverage — including a visit to Ukraine and constituency surgeries pitched at over 60 in her first year — suggests more active press engagement in 2025 than recent months indicate.