• Source: Steve Darling

Stephen Matthew Darling (born 1969) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Torbay since 2024. He has been a member of Torbay Council since 1995 and was the leader of the council from 2019 to 2023. Darling is registered blind and has a guide dog named Jennie.




Political career


Darling was first elected to Torbay Borough Council in 1995 for the ward of Shiphay. The council became a unitary authority as Torbay Council in 1998, and Darling was re-elected as a councillor for Shiphay in 1997 and 2000. He represented the ward of Watcombe from the reorganisation of ward boundaries in 2003, and has represented Barton with Watcombe since a further change in ward boundaries in 2019. Darling was the leader of Torbay Council from 28 May 2019 to 16 May 2023.
Darling's mentor was Adrian Sanders, Torbay MP from 1997 to 2015, who employed Darling in his constituency office as a caseworker and later senior caseworker during his time in office.
In 2024, Darling was selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the constituency of Torbay at the 2024 general election. During his campaign, a charity for visually impaired people in Devon accused local Conservative Party canvassers of suggesting that Darling was pretending to be blind for political gain. His Conservative opponent, Kevin Foster, denied that the allegations had been made. At the general election, Darling gained the seat from Foster, winning a majority of 5,349.




Personal life



In 1969, Darling was given up for adoption in Birmingham when he was three months old, and moved to Torquay in Devon at the age of 18 months. He traced his birth family in the 2000s, finding them to be living nearby in South Devon.
Darling has Stargardt disease, a genetic eye condition that makes his vision "a bit like looking through frosted glass". He is aided by his guide dog Jennie, who is three-quarters Golden Retriever and one-quarter Labrador. He is one of at least three disabled MPs who were first elected in 2024, alongside Labour MPs Marie Tidball and Jen Craft.
In September 2023, Jennie was attacked by an XL Bully dog in Torbay, and recovered from the attack. She is not the first guide dog to serve in Westminster, as House of Lords members Baron Blunkett and Baron Holmes of Richmond also use guide dogs in the chamber.
Darling's wife, Mandy, is also registered blind and has been a fellow Torbay councillor. They have two sons.




Notes






References






External links



Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
Voting record at Public Whip
Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou

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