Annette Brooke - Parliamentary Career

Parliamentary Career

Annette Brooke was elected as a councillor on Poole Borough Council in 1986; she was the council's deputy leader 1995-7 and 1998–2000, and the Liberal Democrat Group Leader 2000-1. She was the Mayor of Poole in 1998. She contested the Conservative held seat of Mid Dorset and Poole North at the 2001 General Election. At the previous election the Conservative Christopher Fraser won the seat by just 681 votes. In 2001 the tables were turned and Annette Brooke was elected as the Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole by just 384 votes and has held the seat since. She made her maiden speech on 21 June 2001.

In Parliament she was made both a Liberal Democrat Whip and a Spokeswoman on Home Affairs by Charles Kennedy in 2001. In 2004 she became a spokeswoman on Children. Following the 2005 General Election (at which Annette Brooke held her seat with a much increased majority of 5,482), she became a spokeswoman on Education and Skills, and carried on in a similar position as spokeswoman on Children, Schools and Families.

In the 2010 General Election, Brookes majority fell to 269 votes; a reduction of 5,213 votes. Her main challenger for the seat, Nick King (Conservative), secured a voting swing against Brooke of 7.7% making her winning majority one of the smallest of the 2010 Election. Following the defeat of Sandra Gidley in the 2010 General Election Brooke became the longest serving Female Lib Dem MP of the current parliament.