John Patrick Aubone Burnett, Baron Burnett (born 19 September 1945) is a British Liberal Democrat politician, a member of the House of Lords, and was a Member of Parliament for Torridge and West Devon between 1997 and 2005 general elections.
He was a commando with the Royal Marines for seven years, a Devon Ruby cattle-breeder, and remains a Consultant/ Legal Adviser at Stephens Scown Solicitors, Exeter, Truro and St. Austell.
Lord Burnett was Chairman of Governors at the Plymouth Diocese Catholic Academy Schools Trust until 31 October 2020, is chairman and Trustee of Charitable Giving, and is President of a number of charities including the Royal Marines Association (Tavistock branch), Okehampton Argyle Football Club, Okehampton Small-Bore Association and Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team (Tavistock)[1] In 1997, he won the seat of Devon West and Torridge as a Liberal Democrat MP.
The constituency was reduced in size in a 2006 Boundary Commission re-alignment, and was retained by the Conservative Party.
[2] Burnett for much of his 8 years in Parliament had been regarded among his fellow Liberal Democrat MPs as "the cat that walked alone": he distanced himself over his Party's stance on the war in Iraq, for example.