Liberal Democrats appoint Lorely Burt as Chair of the Parliamentary Party

8.25.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 24th Oct 2007

Lorely Burt, MP for Solihull and Liberal Democrat Business and Enterprise Spokesperson

Liberal Democrat MPs made history tonight by electing for the first time one of their female MPs to be the Chair of their House of Commons Parliamentary Party.

Lorely Burt, MP for Solihull and Liberal Democrat Business and Enterprise Spokesperson, was elected after a contest in which she defeated two other candidates for the job.

Responding to her appointment, Lorely Burt MP said:

"I am absolutely thrilled to have been elected after a close contest. The Party has a job to do: to bring Liberal Democrat policies to the forefront of British politics. In a small way I hope to be able to contribute to that."

President of the Liberal Democrats, Simon Hughes MP said:

"Lorely deserves hearty congratulations. She has already shown she is a popular colleague in and beyond the Liberal Democrats in the House of Commons, and she will have the support and encouragement of all other Liberal Democrat MPs."