Daisy Cooper
Daisy Cooper (born 29 October 1981)[4] is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Albans since 2019. She has served as the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020, and as the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for health, wellbeing and social care since 2021. Cooper was previously the Liberal Democrats' spokesperson for education from September 2020 to October 2021, and was spokesperson for justice and for digital, culture, media and sport from January 2020 to September 2020.
Early life and career[]
Cooper was born in 1981 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.[5] She gained a Bachelor of Laws honours degree from Leeds University and a Master of Laws degree in public international law from Nottingham University, as well as a foundation certificate in psychotherapy and counselling.[3] Before becoming an MP, Cooper worked in Commonwealth affairs, for Voluntary Service Overseas,[2] for the Hacked Off campaign for victims of press abuse, and for the cross-party group More United.[6] She took part in the "Save the St Albans Pubs" campaign. She also runs a local independent campaign group for rail users.[7]
Political career[]
Cooper was the Liberal Democrat candidate for Suffolk Coastal constituency in the 2010 general election, where she came second behind future cabinet minister Thérèse Coffey. She stood for president of the Liberal Democrats in 2014, coming second to Sal Brinton. During the campaign for the presidency, she declared her support for the group "Humanist and Secularist Liberal Democrats".[8] In the 2015 general election, Cooper stood in Mid Sussex where she came fourth, losing to the Conservative incumbent Nicholas Soames. Cooper also stood in the 2015 Lewes District Council election held on the same day; she was elected to represent the Lewes Bridge ward. Cooper stepped down as a councillor in 2016.[9] She was the Liberal Democrat candidate for St Albans in the 2017 general election, in which she came second. In 2019, she ran Jo Swinson's successful leadership campaign.[6]
Cooper was elected as the first Liberal Democrat MP for St Albans in the 2019 general election, winning it from the incumbent Conservative MP, Anne Main, who had held the seat since 2005.[10][11][12][13] The last time an MP had been elected from the Liberal Democrats or their predecessors was when a Liberal was returned in 1904. The Guardian named Cooper as one of the ten new MPs from all political parties to "watch out for".[6] In January 2020, it was announced Cooper had been appointed as the party's justice, culture, media and sport spokesperson.[14] In June, she took part in George Floyd protests in Verulamium Park, St Albans, where she gave a speech about police brutality.[15] In September 2020, Cooper was announced as the party's new deputy leader and education spokesperson.[16]
In May 2021, Cooper was a signatory to an open letter from Stylist magazine, alongside celebrities and other public figures, which called on the government to address what it described as an "epidemic of male violence" by funding an "ongoing, high-profile, expert-informed awareness campaign on men’s violence against women and girls".[17]
References[]
- ^ "Members' Names Data Platform query". UK Parliament. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
- ^ a b Barbara Kasumu (31 July 2013). "One to watch: Why political campaigner Daisy Cooper is going places". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ^ a b "The role and future of the Commonwealth". United Kingdom Parliament. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 319. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
- ^ "Entry Information". FreeBMD. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ a b c Walker, Peter (16 December 2019). "The new parliament – what and who to watch out for". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ Davies, Joe (13 December 2019). "Who is St Albans' new Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper?". hertfordshiremercury. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ Humanist and Secularist Liberal Democrats. Party presidency - candidates' statements. Retrieved 28 April 2020
- ^ "Change of faces at Lewes Town Council". www.sussexexpress.co.uk.
- ^ "St Albans parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". BBC.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Lib Dems gain St Albans while David Gauke loses seat". 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ Association, Press (18 November 2019). "Constituency profile: St Albans". Evening Express. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ^ Suslak, Anne (13 December 2019). "Liberal Democrats victorious in St Albans to unseat Conservatives in the 2019 General Election". Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Daisy Cooper". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- ^ "#BlackLivesMatter #StAlbans peaceful protest social distancing patrolled by volunteer wardens face coverings worn by most passionate speeches #BlackLivesMatter". Twitter. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ Woodcock, Andrew (13 September 2020). "Liberal Democrats plan to woo 'soft conservatives' repulsed by 'thuggish' Johnson Tories". The Independent. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
an interview to announce her election as deputy
- ^ ""We're calling on you to act now": read Stylist's open letter to Priti Patel about ending male violence against women and girls". Stylist. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
External links[]
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- 1981 births
- Living people
- UK MPs 2019–present
- 21st-century British women politicians
- Alumni of the University of Leeds
- Alumni of the University of Nottingham
- Councillors in East Sussex
- Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- LGBT rights activists from England
- Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors
- Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- People from St Albans
- 21st-century English women
- 21st-century English people
- Women councillors in England