Sarah Virginia Brinton, Baroness Brinton (born 1 April 1955), known as Sal Brinton, is a British politician who served as president of the Liberal Democrats from 2015 to 2020. In November 2010 she was nominated to 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 ...

, taking her place on 10 February 2011 having been created Baroness Brinton, ''of Kenardington in the County of Kent'' on 4 February. After Jo Swinson lost her seat at the 2019 general election, Brinton and Sir

Ed Davey Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, leader of the Liberal Democrat party since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State ...

became acting co- leaders of the Liberal Democrats. After Brinton's term as party president ended, her successor

Mark Pack Mark Anthony Pack, Baron Pack (born 27 July 1970) is a British politician who has served as the president of the Liberal Democrats since 1 January 2020. After the party's leader, Jo Swinson, lost her seat in the 2019 United Kingdom general elec ...

also succeeded her as acting co-leader with Davey. Davey was elected as permanent leader of the party in 2020.

Early life and education

Brinton was born in

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in 1955. She is the daughter of former Conservative MP Tim Brinton, and the cousin of Mary Stocks, Baroness Stocks. Brinton was educated at Benenden School and studied

stage management Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...

at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She subsequently completed a degree in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

Churchill College, Cambridge Churchill College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but retains a strong interest in the arts ...

, in 1981.

Career

Beginning her career in the mid-1970s at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

as a television floor manager, working on '' Playschool'', ''

Grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators, typically at sports stadiums and including both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium i ...

'', ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', and other programmes, Brinton joined the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

in 1975 and became a Cambridgeshire County Councillor in 1993. She contested the parliamentary seat of South East Cambridgeshire at the

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

general elections. Brinton served as

bursar A bursar (derived from ''wikt:bursa, bursa'', Latin for 'Coin purse, purse') is a professional Administrator of the government, administrator in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usual ...

of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, from 1992 to 1997, and Selwyn College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, from 1997 to 2002. In 1997 she won the

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

n entrepreneurial businesswoman of the year award. She was also founder member of the Board of the East of England Development Agency from December 1998 to December 2004 (Deputy Chair from 2001 to 2004). From 1999 to 2004, Brinton chaired the Cambridgeshire Learning and Skills Council. She contested the

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

constituency at the 2005 general election, coming second to incumbent Labour MP

Claire Ward Claire Margaret Ward (born 9 May 1972) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who was elected Mayor of the East Midlands in 2024 East Midlands mayoral election, May 2024. Previously, she served as Member of Parliament (United K ...

. She stood at Watford at the next election in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, this time coming second behind

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate Richard Harrington and reducing Ward to a third-place finish. She is a non-executive director of the Ufi Charitable Trust, a charity giving grants in the vocational educational technology sector. Brinton is a member of the Liberal Democrat Federal Policy Committee and Vice Chair of the Federal Conference Committee. She also chairs the Liberal Democrat Diversity Engagement Group, with a particular interest in increasing the number of women, black, Asian, and minority ethnic MPs. Baroness Brinton was a member of the All Party Stalking Inquiry of 2011. In 2014, Brinton was elected as the president of the Liberal Democrats, defeating

Daisy Cooper Daisy Cooper (born 29 October 1981) is a British Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for St Albans (UK Parliament constituency), St Albans s ...

and

Liz Lynne Elizabeth Lynne (born 22 January 1948) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She was member of parliament (MP) for Rochdale from the 1992 general election until her defeat in the 1997 general election, and a Member of the European Parlia ...

, and took up her position on 1 January 2015.

Personal life

Brinton has

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...

and so usually uses a wheelchair. She met her husband Tim when she worked at the BBC. They live together with their family in

Honours

In 2003, Brinton was awarded an honorary

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

for her contribution to education, skills and learning by Anglia Ruskin University. In November 2013, she was made a Fellow of

Birkbeck, University of London Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a Public university, public research university located in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London. Establ ...

. She is Patron of Christian Blind Mission UK, Trustee of the United Kingdom Committee of

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

, a Trustee of the Ufi Charitable Trust, and a Director of the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Ltd.Profile
parliament.uk; accessed 20 March 2014.

References

External links

*
Baroness Brinton
Profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
Guardian – Sal Brinton: Electoral History and Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brinton, Sal 1955 births 20th-century British women politicians 21st-century British women politicians Alumni of Churchill College, Cambridge Members of Cambridgeshire County Council Fellows of Selwyn College, Cambridge Leaders of the Liberal Democrats (UK) Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Liberal Democrats (UK) parliamentary candidates Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Living people People educated at Benenden School Politics of Watford British wheelchair users