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Sarah Louise Teather (born 1 June 1974 , London ) is a British politician who is the Member Of Parliament for Brent East . She was first elected on 18 September 2003 in the Brent East By-election and re-elected on 5 May 2005 in the 2005 General Election . BIOGRAPHY Educated at St John's College , Cambridge University , she gained a degree in Natural Sciences , specialising in Pharmacology . It was while at Cambridge she became interested in politics and joined the Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats , of which she became Treasurer, and became involved with LDYS in 1993 . She went on to work in Public Relations as press officer for a number of prominent groups including the Royal Society and the charity Macmillan Cancer Relief . She first contested an election in 2001 in the seat of Finchley And Golders Green , increasing the Lib Dem vote by 0.8% but still coming a distant third. In 2002, she became a councillor in the London Borough Of Islington , but also began campaigning in Brent East shortly after the Labour MP Paul Daisley was diagnosed with cancer. The 2003 Brent East By-election , caused by Daisley's death, was set against the Iraq War - a war which was especially unpopular with the large Muslim electorate. The Liberal Democrats, a party which often fares well in by-elections, came from third place behind Labour and the Conservatives, with a 39.12% share of the total and 1,118 more than Labour's Robert Evans . She thus became the youngest member of the House, informally known as the "Baby of the House". She also became the joint shortest MP (with Hazel Blears ), standing just 4'10" (1.47 Metres) tall. Many expected Teather to lose her seat at the Following General Election , earning her the nicknames "One-term Teather" and "Two-years Teather". At the 2005 general election, Labour fielded an Asian female candidate Yasmin Qureshi who also took an anti-war stance. However, Teather retained her seat with 14,764 votes, 47.5% share of the total and 2,712 more than Quereshi. Her informal title of " Baby Of The House " was taken by a newly-elected MP, and fellow Liberal Democrat, Jo Swinson . Before the 2005 election she was her party's spokesperson on London . After the 2005 General Election, she was promoted to serve as the Liberal Democrat Shadow Communities And Local Government Secretary and promoted again following Menzies Campbell 's election as leader in early 2006. 2006 LEADERSHIP ELECTION Throughout late 2005, Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy came under increasing pressure from his parliamentary party to stand down in advance of the May 2006 local elections. After an announcement on January 6th that Kennedy had been treated for alcoholism, members of the Liberal Democrat frontbench team privately expressed their wish that Kennedy resign his post as leader in a letter circulated by Treasury spokesman Vincent Cable . On January 6th, a letter drafted by Teather and fellow frontbencher Ed Davey and signed by 23 other Liberal Democrat MPs became public. Teather's remarks, described by '' The Guardian '' as "the most damning" {Link without Title} of all the publically expressed sentiments regarding Kennedy's position, included a statement that they had "indicated to Charles Kennedy that we would no longer be prepared to serve under his leadership after this weekend". Later that day, Kennedy announced his resignation. Teather supported Sir Menzies Campbell in his successful leadership election campaign {Link without Title} and was rewarded with the post of Shadow Education Secretary . [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4785556.stm ''See : Liberal Democrats Leadership Election, 2006 '' SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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