Education
Brooke was educated at Romford County Technical School in Romford and the London School of Economics, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics.
Brooke was educated at Romford County Technical School in Romford and the London School of Economics, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics.
She qualified as a teacher at Hughes Hall, Cambridge. She was a tutor with the Open University for 19 years from 1971 and was a school teacher from 1974, including at Aylesbury, and then Head of Economics at the independent Talbot Heath School for Girls in Bournemouth when she left in 1994. Annette Brooke was elected as a councillor on Poole Borough Council in 1986.
She was the council"s deputy leader 1995-1997 and 1998–2000, and the Liberal Democrat Group Leader 2000-2001.
She was the Mayor of Poole in 1998. She contested the Conservative-held seat of Mid Dorset and Poole North at the 2001 General Election.
In 2001 the tables were turned and Annette Brooke was elected as the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Mid Dorset and North Poole by 384 votes and held the seat until 2015 where it was lost to the conservatives. She made her maiden speech on 21 June 2001.
In Parliament she was made both a Liberal Democrat Whip and a Spokeswoman on Home Affairs by Charles Kennedy in 2001.
In 2004 she became a spokeswoman on Children. Following the 2005 General Election (at which Annette Brooke held her seat with a much increased majority of 5,482), she became a spokeswoman on Education and Skills, and carried on in a similar position as spokeswoman on Children, Schools and Families. In the 2010 General Election, Brooke"s majority fell to 269 votes.
A reduction of 5,213 votes.
Her main challenger for the seat, Nick King (Conservative), secured a swing of 7.7% making her majority one of the smallest of the 2010 Election. Following the defeat of Sandra Gidley in the 2010 General Election Brooke became the longest-serving female Liberal Democratic Member of Parliament of the 55th parliament.
Brooke was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the 2013 New Year Honours for public and political service. Brooke was elevated to a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2015 Dissolution Honours Lists on 27 August 2015.
At the time she left office, Brooke was the longest serving female Member of Parliament in the history of the Liberal Democrats.
53rd United Kingdom Parliament. 54th United Kingdom Parliament. 55th United Kingdom Parliament]
She was the Member of Parliament (Member of Parliament) for Mid Dorset and North Poole from 2001 to 2015.
Brooke announced in 2013 that she would stand down as a Member of Parliament at the next general election in 2015.