I know that you will all be sad to know that former Mid Dorset and Poole MP Annette Brooke passed away yesterday.
Ed Davey paid tribute to her on Twitter.
“My heart is full of sadness today, as we have lost a dear friend and wonderful former colleague, Annette Brooke.
“Annette dedicated her life to public service, always fighting for the people who needed her voice.
“She served her local community with great dedication as a councillor and later Mayor.
“Annette made history, not only by being the first woman to be elected as an MP in a general election in Dorset, through her tireless campaigning, she also went on to become the longest-serving female MP for the Liberal Democrats.
“The countless people she helped over her wonderful life of public service will miss her deeply.
“My thoughts and prayers are with her wonderful family, friends, and the Dorset community.”
Her husband Mike and daughters Caroline and Eleanor were quoted in the Bournemouth Echo:
Her husband, Mike Brooke, said: “She was very accessible to everyone.
“She cared for everyone, and she was determined to do the best for others.
“She wasn’t proud.
“In fact, I think her humility was recognised by many, many people.”
Her family said Dame Annette was “supportive, determined, caring”, put “everyone in the community before herself” and was always “prepared” to campaign for her constituents.
Her daughter, Caroline Blunden, said: “As a mother, she wanted the very best for us.
“She encouraged us to follow our passions.”
“I think most people will remember her for dedication, commitment, humility, trustworthiness and compassion, and that’s a legacy of what MP should be,” added Mike.
Her daughter, Eleanor Perera, said: “She had so many friends that weren’t political, even right up to the end she connected with groups, and she was supported by people going through similar treatments.”
Every time I came across her, she was lovely, helpful, kind and funny.
We send our love and sympathy to all Annette’s family and friends.
Please feel free to share your memories of Annette in the comments.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social
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7 Comments
Annette was one of the loveliest and most caring people I have ever known and I was lucky to count her as a good friend and colleague. She had a steely core too and in private conversation gave short shrift to anyone she thought was acting unfairly.
I first met her at a Target Seat training weekend a year or so before we first won our respective seats in 2001 and we sat late in the hotel bar discussing campaigning and politics. Later, after the 2005 election, we had adjoining Parliamentary Offices with a shared central lobby where our staff were based. Despite the very different constituencies we represented our political views, on matters internal to the Liberal Democrats as well as external, were very similar and it was a joy to work with Annette.
A wonderful person, very kind and caring and absolutely determined to improve life for other people. The world is worse place without Annette but a better place because she was in it.
Cllr Paul Holmes. MP for Chesterfield 2001-2010.
Vey sad news. A wonderful political campaigner for her community.
Annette was one of the most kindly, well-balanced Liberals you could care to meet- always motivated by a good cause, never by ego. Her role in the parliamentary party was significant. All of us knew that if Annette did not approve of what you did, it was probably the wrong thing to have done- quiet moral leadership. Like many of us she found the Coalition a struggle particularly on welfare issues but never lost her grounded idealism or the twinkle in her eye. Like her good friend from the 2001 intake, Patsy Calton, she died from a form of cancer that only women are vulnerable to- perhaps alerting us all to the fact that there are still some very important causes and campaigns still to fight. Requiescat in pace.
A good lady. She will be sadly missed.
A sad loss, not just to her family and friends but to the wider community. I agree with everything said by Paul Holmes. Annette, Paul and many other new MPs, such as the late Patsy Calton, became good friends when we were first elected as Liberal Democrat MPs in 2001. We formed a close bond when we were learning the ropes at Westminster while sharing one large office in a committee room, before we were allocated our separate offices. That friendship lasted until now and long beyond our time as Members of Parliament. As well as enjoying many social evenings together with friends, I worked with Annette on Microfinance issues and we both shared a concern for the disabled, as well as a continuing support for those affected by the war in Ukraine. Thanks to WhatsApp we were in regular contact after we left Parliament and shared many memories and much laughter over the years. The laughter has stopped but the memories will last forever.
Annette was one of the best. A lovely person to know and a first rate colleague in every way. Always ready with a friendly word of advice and what she has to say was, without fail, worth listening to. She made Parliament a better place.
Cllr Mark Hunter
MP for Cheadle 2005-2015
Annette’s maiden speech is available to read here:
https://tinyurl.com/5n9a9k8e
(https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2001-06-21/debates/da12b654-37a2-432b-b0e6-b03fdcfee0f4/CommonsChamber#contribution-fee55287-c6cf-41aa-9b18-28c8413f4c1e)