Colonel Sir Ronald Laurence Gardner-Thorpe (13 May 1917 – 11 December 1991) was a British company director and Liberal Party politician who also became the 653rd Lord Mayor of London in 1980.

Gardner-Thorpe was the son of Joseph Gardner and Hannah Coulthurst Thorpe.

[3] Gardner-Thorpe was Liberal candidate for the Eastbourne division of Sussex at the 1959 General Election.

The election took place at a period where the Liberal Party's fortunes were on the rise following victory in the Orpington by-election.

However this time, the Conservatives regained some lost support and Gardner-Thorpe remained second.