Janet Evelyn Fookes, Baroness Fookes (born 21 February 1936) is a British politician. A member of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, she is a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. She was previously a member of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1970 to 1997, representing the constituencies of Merton and Morden (1970–74) and Plymouth Drake (1974–97). She was a

Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons The speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the lower house and primary chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The current speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, was elected Speaker on 4 November 201 ...

from 1992 to 1997, and presently is a Deputy Speaker in the House of Lords.

Biography

Fookes was educated at

Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. She worked as a teacher from 1958 to 1970. She served as a

Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

Hastings Borough Council Hastings Borough Council is the local authority for the borough of Hastings, in the county of East Sussex, England. The borough is divided into 12 wards but has no civil parishes, the entire district being an unparished area. The council is based ...

from 1960 to 1961, and 1963–70. Fookes was elected a

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) representing Merton and Morden in 1970. When this constituency was abolished, she was elected MP for Plymouth Drake in 1974. Drake was never a safe seat, but Fookes managed to survive many strong challenges in each general election she fought, including winning by a majority of just 34 at the October 1974 general election. She served as one of three Deputy Speakers of the House of Commons from 1992 to 1997. She retired from the House of Commons in 1997, after 27 years as an MP: as she humorously put it, "longer than a life sentence". Fookes served on the Council of the

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest an ...

1975–92, and was its chair from 1979 to 1981. She was also a member of the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

(1987–97). She is an Ambassador for unemployment charity, Tomorrow's People Trust.

Honours

On 30 September 1997, she was made a Life Peer as Baroness Fookes, of

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

in the County of Devon. She had previously been made 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 1989 New Year's Honours, and became Deputy Lieutenant of

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

in 2001.

Arms

References

Times Guide to the House of Commons ''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'' is a political reference guide book published by Times Newspapers giving coverage of general elections in the United Kingdom. Following most general elections since 1880, the book has been published. The ...

editions 1970–1992

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fookes, Janet 1936 births Living people Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in East Sussex Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Deputy Lieutenants of East Sussex Deputy Speakers of the British House of Commons Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Conservative Party (UK) life peers UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London Schoolteachers from London Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Devon 20th-century British women politicians People from Lewisham Women councillors in England Women legislative deputy speakers Politicians from Plymouth, Devon