Brian Joseph Michael Cotter, Baron Cotter (born 24 August 1936) is a politician in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. He was

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

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 o ...

for

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmix ...

from

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

Early life

Born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the son of a doctor from

, he was educated at Saint Benedict's School, Ealing, and Downside School in Somerset, where, aged sixteen, he ran a 4½ minute mile. Upon leaving school, he entered the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

, serving two years

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

, spending time stationed in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

. He entered business after leaving the army. He studied Business Studies at a polytechnic in London, eventually running his own small manufacturing company, Plasticable Ltd in Alton, which is now run as a co-operative. Formerly a

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 in ...

, as he stated in Woking Liberal/SDP Alliance general election campaign newspaper ''The Voice'' in 1987, Brian Cotter was elected to

Woking Borough Council Woking Borough Council is the local authority for the borough of Woking in the county of Surrey, England. The council consists of 30 councillors, three for each of the 10 wards in the town. It is currently controlled by the Liberal Democrat Par ...

in 1986, as a Liberal/SDP Alliance candidate, representing the Mount Hermon West ward. He retained this seat until standing down in 1990.

Parliamentary career

In 1997, he was the first

for

to not be from 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 ...

since 1923. He had contested the same seat in 1992 without success. He was re-elected in 2001, but Cotter lost the seat to John Penrose of the Conservatives at the 2005 general election. Throughout his time in Parliament, he served as Small Business Spokesman for the Liberal Democrats. In April 2006, it was announced that Cotter would be created 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 ...

to join the

ranks in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

, and on 30 May he was created Baron Cotter, of Congresbury in the County of Somerset. He delivered his maiden speech in the Lords on 29 June. He takes an interest in a number of areas, and on various issues as they arise. Specifically, before the

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

was formed in 2010, he led for the Liberal Democrats on Small Business issues and vocational education; specifically apprenticeships. Within the coalition, he concentrated on business and vocational training issues.

Outside Parliament

Baron Cotter is a practising

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

. Cotter is a patron of domestic violence charity the

ManKind Initiative The ManKind Initiative is a domestic violence charity based in the United Kingdom and is at the forefront of providing support for male victims of domestic abuse and violence. Since becoming a charity in 2001, it has provided a helpline, trainin ...

Personal life

He married Eyleen Patricia Wade in February 1963. They have two sons and a daughter.

References

External links

Cotter's profile at the site of Liberal Democrats

Weston-super-Mare Liberal Democrats

TheyWorkForYou.com - Brian Cotter

The Public Whip - Brian Cotter
voting record
BBC News - Brian Cotter
profile 16 October 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cotter, Brian 1936 births Living people People educated at Downside School Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 People from Weston-super-Mare Conservative Party (UK) politicians People educated at St Benedict's School, Ealing ManKind Initiative people British Army soldiers Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Life peers created by Elizabeth II