Dame Annette Lesley Brooke, DBE (''née'' Kelly; born 7 June 1947) is a British

Liberal Democrat Several political party, political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democracy, liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties ...

politician. She was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Mid Dorset and North Poole Mid Dorset and North Poole is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Michael Tomlinson, a Conservative. Boundaries 1997–2010: The District of Purbeck wards of Bere Regis, Lytchett Matravers, ...

from the 2001 general election to

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. At the time she left office, Brooke was the longest serving female MP in the history of the Liberal Democrats. As of 2023, she and fellow Liberal Democrat

Diana Maddock Diana Margaret Maddock, Baroness Maddock, Lady Beith (; 19 May 1945 – 26 June 2020) was a British Liberal Democrat politician. She was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Christchurch in a 1993 by-election but lost the seat at the subseq ...

are the only women to date who represented

parliamentary constituencies in Dorset A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

Early life

Brooke was educated at Romford County Technical School in

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...

and the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, graduating with a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

. She qualified as a teacher at

Hughes Hall, Cambridge Hughes Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. It is the oldest of the University of Cambridge's postgraduate colleges. The college also admits undergraduates, though undergraduates admitted by the college must b ...

. She was a tutor with the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

for 19 years from 1971 and was a school teacher from 1974, including at Aylesbury, and then Head of Economics at the independent

Talbot Heath School Talbot Heath School is a selective, private day and boarding School for girls aged 3–18 located in Talbot Woods, Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The school was established in 1886 and was previously known as Bournemouth High School for Girls. ...

for Girls in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, which she left in 1994.

Parliamentary career

Annette Brooke was elected as a councillor on

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

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 Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

-held seat of Mid Dorset and Poole North at the 2001 General Election. At the previous election the Conservative

Christopher Fraser Christopher James Fraser, OBE (born 25 October 1962) is a former British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Dorset and North Poole from the 1997 general election to 2001 and South West Norfolk fro ...

won the seat by 681 votes. In 2001 Annette Brooke was elected by 384 votes and held the seat until 2015 where it was regained by the Conservatives. She made her

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

on 21 June 2001. In Parliament she was made both a Liberal Democrat

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

and a Spokeswoman on

Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

Charles Kennedy Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 1959 – 1 June 2015) was a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 1983 ...

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, Brooke's majority fell to 269 votes; a reduction of 5,213 votes. Her main challenger for the seat, Nick King (Conservative), secured a swing of 7.7% making her constituency one of the most marginal of the 2010 Election. Following the defeat of

Sandra Gidley Sandra Julia Gidley MRPharmS (''née'' Rawson; born 26 March 1957) is a British pharmacist and politician who served as the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for Romsey in Hampshire from 2000 to 2010, when she lost her seat to Conserva ...

in the 2010 General Election, Brooke became the longest-serving female Liberal Democrat MP of the 55th parliament. Brooke announced in 2013 that she would stand down as a Member of Parliament at the next general election in 2015.

Personal life and honours

In May 2005, she met Hollywood actress

Natalie Portman Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...

to discuss the microfinance charity,

FINCA International FINCA International is a non-profit, microfinance organization, founded by John Hatch in 1984. FINCA is the innovator of the village banking methodology in microcredit and is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern-day microfinance. Wi ...

, and their joint plans to help the world's poorest people become self-sufficient. She is married to Michael (former geology schoolteacher, an
councillor
on Poole Borough Council since 2003) with two daughters, and is a partner in her family firm selling rocks and

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...

s, started in 1987. They live in Broadstone. Brooke was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hon ...

for public and political service. She was elevated to a

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(DBE) in the 2015 Dissolution Honours Lists on 27 August 2015.Dissolution Honours 2015
, gov.uk; accessed 11 February 2016. She was appointed to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

on 16 July 2014.

References

External links

Annette Brooke MP
official site
Annette Brooke MP
profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
Profile: Annette Brooke
at ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

'', 10 February 2005
Broadstone Minerals
owned jointly with her geologist husband ;News articles
Blandford Camp in November 2006

The CSA in December 2004

procedures in April 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooke, Annette 1947 births Living people Academics of the Open University Alumni of Hughes Hall, Cambridge Alumni of the London School of Economics Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Councillors in Dorset Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Dorset Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Broadstone, Dorset Politics of Dorset UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century British women politicians 21st-century English women 21st-century English people Women councillors in England