Lord (Richard) Hugh Cavendish

Credentials

• Lord Cavendish was educated at Eton College. [1]

Background

Lord (Richard) Hugh Cavendish has been a member of the House of Lords since 1990, having been appointed by then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. He sits on the EU Financial Affairs Sub-Committee and was a member of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 Committee between October 2017 and March 2018. [2], [3]

Lord Cavendish served in the Department of Energy, according to a 2015 interview with DeSmog UK, in which he also claimed to have been the first to build wind farms in Britain. [3]

Cavendish has funded the UK climate science denial group the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF). The size of his donation is unknown, although he claims it “wasn’t big bucks.” [3]

As a large landowner in Cumbria, Lord Cavendish has received significant farming subsidies through the EU‘s Common Agricultural Policy. A DeSmog report entitled “Wind farm subsidies bad, farm subsidies good?” revealed that Cavendish had received £93,905.60 in farming subsidies during 2014. [9]

Stance on Climate Change

April 2015

Cavendish said that he supports Lord Lawson, founder of the GWPF. Asked about his GWPF donation, Cavendish said: [3]

“I’ve made – I cannot remember what – quite a modest contribution and I think I look for a chance to support it if there is a debate… it definitely wasn’t big bucks, I can assure you.”

“I think the religious fervour element is seriously dangerous. I like to think Lord Lawson is on the side of the angels.” [3]

According to the GWPF, carbon dioxide emissions have been “mercilessly demonized as ‘carbon pollution’, when in fact it is a benefit to the planet.” [4]

Key Quotes

April 13, 2015

In an interview with DeSmog UK published in April 2015 he said: [3]

“I think I might be the first person in this country in fact to have built windmills and I was thinking at the time, ‘am I doing a good thing or a bad thing?’ and I came to the conclusion that it was the wrong thing actually, I was thinking lately.” [3]

When asked about his donation to the GWPF, he told DeSmog UK:

“I’ve made – I cannot remember what – quite a modest contribution and I think I look for a chance to support it if there is a debate… it definitely wasn’t big bucks, I can assure you.” [3]

Key Deeds

April, 2015

A DeSmog UK investigation revealed Lord Cavendish as a funder of the Global Warming Policy Foundation. [3]

May, 1990

Cavendish joined the House of Lords. [2]

Affiliations

• Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) — Funder. [3]
• Conservative Party — Lord. [2]
• Holker Group — Board Member. [5]
• Bouthray Fisheries Limited — Director. (Company currently listed as dormant.) [6]
• Burlington Slate Limited — Director. [2]
• South Cumbria Rivers Trust — President. [7]
• Burlington Aggregates Limited — Director. [8]

Social Media

• @hugh_cavendish on Twitter
• Hugh Cavendish on Linkedin

Publications

Lord Cavendish does not appear to have published any articles in major news sources or other publications.

Resources

1. “Hugh Cavendish,” LinkedIn. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
2. “Lord Cavendish of Furness,” UK Parliament. Archived December 20, 2018. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/6BJNN
3. Brendan Montague. “Exposed: Two Funders of Lord Lawson’s Climate Denial Charity Linked to Energy Industry,” DeSmog, April 13, 2015.
4. Andrew Montford. “Unintended Consequences of Climate Change Policy” (PDF), Global Warming Policy Foundation, January 2015. Archived August 17, 2015.
5. “Lucy Cavendish has high hopes for the Holker Group,” Choose Cumbria, June 23, 2016. Archived December 20, 2018. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/3RqHv
6. “Hugh Cavendish,” Companies House. Archived December 20, 2018. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/LuXTU
7. “Meet our team,” South Cumbria Rivers Trust. Archived December 20, 2018. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/3FpXG
8. “Richard Hugh Baron Cavendish,” Companies House. Archived January 7, 2019. Archive.fo URL: http://archive.fo/7B3oq
9. Brendan Montague. “Wind farm subsidies bad, farm subsidies good?,” DeSmog, August 10, 2013.

Other Resources

Image Credit: Chris McAndrew/Wikimedia/CC BY 3.0