Baroness O'Neill of Bexley
Conservative peer Teresa O'Neill, former leader of the London Borough of Bexley.
Baroness O'Neill of Bexley, a Conservative shadow minister for housing and local government, joined her party's frontbench peers on 14 September 2026 in arguing that donation caps in the Representation of the People Bill should spare gifts that were lawful at the time.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026
Timeline for Baroness O'Neill of Bexley
Mentioned in: Peers table four caps on party donors
UK Local Elections 2026Background
Baroness O'Neill of Bexley is a Conservative member of The House of Lords. Since June 2026 she has been a shadow minister for housing, communities and local government.
As Teresa O'Neill she led the London Borough of Bexley from 2008 to 2025, stepping down to concentrate on her work in the Lords. She was appointed OBE in 2015 for services to the community and local government, and became a life peer in 2022.
Her long spell running a London borough gives the Conservative front bench a local government voice in the Lords. On party funding she has sided with colleagues opposed to rules that would reach backwards.
O'Neill defends gifts made under old rules
O'Neill spoke for a Conservative front bench that drew a firm line at Second Reading on 14 September 2026: rules written now should not catch money parties received legally beforehand.
She came to the bill as a shadow minister for housing, communities and local government, a POST she took in June 2026, and as a former council leader WHO ran Bexley for 17 years. None of the four caps queued for committee touches donations made before the Act starts, so her argument bears on future drafting more than on any amendment now in front of peers. The committee had no sitting date by 5 October.