Introduction
Daisy Cooper (born 1981) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Albans at the 2019 general election.
Early life
Before becoming an MP, Cooper worked in Commonwealth affairs, for VSO, for the Hacked Off campaign for victims of press abuse, and for the cross-party group More United. She took part in the "Save the St Albans Pubs" campaign. Cooper also runs a local independent campaign group for rail users.
Political career
Cooper was the Liberal Democrat candidate for Suffolk Coastal constituency in the 2010 general election, where she came second behind future cabinet minister Thérèse Coffey. She stood for President of the Liberal Democrats in 2014, coming second to Sal Brinton. During the campaign for the presidency, Cooper declared her support for the group "Humanist and Secularist Liberal Democrats".
In the 2015 general election she stood in Mid Sussex, where she came fourth, losing to Nicholas Soames. Cooper was the Liberal Democrat candidate for St Albans in the 2017 general election, when she came second. In 2019 she ran Jo Swinson's leadership campaign.
Cooper was elected as the MP for St Albans in the 2019 general election, winning the seat from the Conservative MP, Anne Main, who had held the seat since 2005.
Cooper became the first Liberal Democrat MP for St Albans.
The Guardian named Cooper as one of the ten new MPs from all political parties to 'watch out for'.
In January 2020, it was announced that Cooper had been appointed as the party's justice, culture, media and sport spokesperson.