Daisy Cooper

One of three Liberal Democrat gains at the recent election, Daisy Cooper’s victorious second candidacy in the St Albans constituency was small consolation for her party. With a background in law, Cooper spent nine years working for the Commonwealth; for the Voluntary Service Overseas, for the Hacked Off campaign for victims of press abuse, and for the cross-party group More United. Cooper has been a prominent Liberal Democrat for some years, coming runner-up in both the 2010 Suffolk Coastal constituency, and in the Liberal Democrat presidential election of 2014. She was Jo Swinson’s campaign director in her 2019 leadership bid, and allegedly considered standing for the Liberal Democrat leadership herself in the immediate aftermath of the general election, The Guardian naming her as one of ten new MPs to “watch out for.” Her legislative priorities include tackling the climate crisis and securing additional funding for the NHS and schools; in June 2020 she took part in the George Floyd protests, giving a speech about police brutality. Having served as spokesperson for Justice, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Cooper was made Deputy leader in September 2020 and now serves as education spokesperson.