Richard was the Borough Councillor for Kingsthorpe from 1983 to 2011, and now represents Kingsley on Northants County Council. He is a former cabinet member of Northampton Borough Council and is a member of West Northamptonshire Development Corporation.

Richard was the parliamentary candidate for Northampton North in 1992 and 2001 and has also stood for election to the European Parliament. He is a former leader of the Lib Dem groups on both Northampton Borough and Northants County Council. He was Mayor of Northampton in 1997-98.

Richard is a former director of his family’s long established local retail business Church’s China.