Richard Burrett has been a member of the County Council since 2009, and was also a member of Crawley Borough Council from 1992 to 2023. He served as a Cabinet Member throughout the period during which Crawley Borough Council was Conservative controlled, from 2006 to 2014, and was a member of the County Council’s Cabinet from 2015 to 2019. He served as Cabinet Member for Education and Skills for most of that period, and additionally as Deputy Leader of the County Council from 2017 to 2019, having previously served as the Chairman of the Children and Young People’s Services Select Committee.
Richard has always had a particular interest in all matters relating to education, and served as a School Governor in Crawley for over 20 years. He has been Chair of the Governing Body at a large Primary School, and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body of a Secondary School, as well as having been a member of Sussex University’s Annual Forum since 2006. He is also a trustee of Crawley Open House and of the Gatwick Airport Community Trust, and was previously a Non-Executive Director of the former Crawley Primary Care Trust. He is a long-serving representative on South-East Employers, and has also previously served on a variety of Local Government Association Boards and Panels concerned with local government staffing issues.
Outside of politics, Richard's interests include music, walking, and exploring the countryside.