Razzall qualified as a solicitor in 1969 and worked for Frere Cholmeley, becoming a partner in 1973, and chief executive in 1990 before leaving in 1995 to set up his own corporate finance business. Frere Cholmeley Bischoff encountered financial difficulties and dissolved shortly after his departure, for which some blame was attributed to Razzall. In 1974 he was elected a Councillor for MortlakeWard in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames which he represented for 24 years. During that time he served as chair of Richmond Council's Policy and Resources Committee for 13 years and as deputy leader 1983–96. He was succeeded in both roles by Serge Lourie. In 1986 he became joint-treasurer of the Liberal Party and then treasurer of the newly merged Liberal Democrats in 1988. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1993 New Year Honours and created a Life Peer on 22 October 1997 as Baron Razzall, of Mortlake in the London Borough of Richmond. In July 2002, he was the best man at the marriage of Charles Kennedy to Sarah Gurling. From 2000 to 2006, he was chair of the Liberal Democrats' Campaigns and Communications Committee. Along with Lord Rennard, he was responsible for running the Liberal Democrats' election campaigns. He stepped down from this post in May 2006 saying he wanted a change and to give his successor a chance to settle into the role before the 2010 general election. A former House of LordsLiberal Democrat Spokesman on Trade and Industry and Treasurer of the All Party Parliamentary Intellectual Property Group in Parliament, he now serves on various parliamentary committees.
Personal life
Razzall married first in 1965 Elizabeth Christina née Wilkinson, and they had a daughter, Katie Razzall, the BBC Newsnight reporter, and a son James Razzall. Through his second marriage in 1982 to Deirdre Martineau née Taylor-Smith, he became step-father to her two sons and two daughters. In 2008 he was reported to be the partner of Baroness Jane Bonham-Carter. Bonham-Carter has declared the relationship in the House of Lords Register of Interests.
Memoirs
His memoirs, Chance Encounters, were published in October 2014.
Controversy
Lord Razzall attracted criticism in 2008 when it was revealed that he and his partner, The Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury, a fellow life peer, had both claimed House of Lords expenses for a flat that they shared, although it was not claimed that a breach of the rules had occurred. The House of Lords expenses system was later changed to give peers a flat rate irrespective of their residence.
