Janet Evelyn Fookes, Baroness Fookes, (born 21 February 1936) is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. She was previously a member of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

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 of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, the lower house and primary chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The current speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, was ...

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

Biography

Fookes was educated at Royal Holloway College,

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

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

Councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

on Hastings Borough Council from 1960 to 1961, and 1963–70. Fookes was elected a Member of Parliament (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, when the number of Plymouth seats fell from three to two, after 27 years as an MP: as she humorously put it, "longer than a life sentence". Fookes served on the Council of the RSPCA 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 status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE) in the 1989 New Year's Honours, and became Deputy Lieutenant of

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

in 2001.

Arms

References

Bibliography

* Times Guide to the House of Commons editions 1970–1992

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fookes, Janet 1936 births 20th-century British women politicians 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 Life peers 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 People from Lewisham Politicians from Plymouth, Devon RSPCA workers Women councillors in England Women legislative deputy speakers