In May 2019, Richardson stood for election to
Waverley Borough Council in the ward of
Cranleigh East, but failed to win a seat after she was pushed into fifth place by three Liberal Democrats and a Conservative candidate. She was elected to Cranleigh Parish Council later the same month. At the
2019 general election, Richardson was elected to Parliament as MP for
Guildford with 44.9% of the vote and a majority of 3,337. She was sworn into the
House of Commons on 18 December 2019. Upon her election to Parliament, she was also elected as a vice-chair of the
APPG for Australia and New Zealand. Richardson served as a
Parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the ministerial team at the
Department for Education, and following this, to
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove. On 3 November 2021, she was fired from her PPS role after abstaining on a government-backed amendment to overhaul the Commons' disciplinary process in response to the
proposed suspension of Owen Paterson. She ultimately resigned as PPS in January 2022, with her resignation made public following the publication on 31 January of
Sue Gray's report on
breaches of lockdown restrictions in Downing Street. In February 2024, Richardson was reselected as the Conservative candidate for Guildford at the
2024 general election. On 26 March 2024, she was appointed as a
Deputy Chairwoman of the Conservative Party, to replace
Luke Hall who had been appointed
Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education. == Personal life ==