Rachel Gilmour

Rachel Gilmour is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Tiverton and Minehead since 2024.

Early life
Gilmour grew up on the Somerset–Devon border and won a scholarship to attend Cheltenham Ladies' College after attending local schools including St John's Primary School in Wellington. It was while she was at the College that she joined the Liberal Party aged 17. She is the daughter of the former England international rugby player David Wrench. She studied law at SOAS University of London and English literature at King's College London.

Career
After a stint as an English Lecturer at Somerset College of Arts & Technology in Taunton, Gilmour began her career in corporate communications and public affairs. Having worked for national and international NGOs, she was appointed Director of Communications at the NFU, becoming the first woman to join their board in 100 years. She went on to be Head of Strategy at the Environment Agency.

Most recently she was employed as Director of Communications for Pangea 21, a group of health tech start-ups.

In the 2015 United Kingdom general election, Gilmour contested Taunton Deane to succeed Jeremy Browne. She had unsuccessfully stood in two earlier general elections.

She was previously a member of Taunton Deane Borough Council and currently represents the Clare & Shuttern ward of Mid Devon District Council.

Personal life
She lives in Bampton with her husband, Patrick, a corporate lawyer. They have three sons and a daughter. They share their home and garden with two dogs, three cats and twenty two rescue chickens.