Vikki Slade is the Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Slade won 21,442 votes, representing 43.3% of the vote. The Conservative candidate, Michael Tomlinson, received 20,090 votes (40.6%), while the Labour candidate, Candice Johnson-Cole, secured 4,566 votes (9.2%). Slade was duly elected with a majority of 1,352 votes.

The Mid Dorset and North Poole constituency is located in South West England.Created in 1997, the seat has switched between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats.

Political Career

Slade is a member of the House of Commons justice select committee (since November 2025) – the committee responsible for examining the policies and spending of the Ministry of Justice and associated public bodies. Its remit includes the courts, legal aid, prisons, probation and the rule of law. It also advises on sentencing guidelines.

Slade served as the Liberal Democrat local government spokesperson from September 2024 to September 2025.

Slade is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for the National Trust, parks and green spaces, performing arts education and training, play and town centres (chair).

Slade delivered her maiden speech on 22 October 2024 during a debate celebrating the Olympics and Paralympics.

In it, she said: “I will fight to clean up our rivers and achieve bathing water status at Eye Bridge, where our teenagers already spend their summer days chilling out by the water, and where parents like us taught our kids to kayak.”

She added: “Every child must be able to thrive, but our current education system stops that happening for so many young people. We have a curriculum that crushes creativity, a SEND system that condemns children to fail, and a grip so tight on Ofsted measures that teachers do not have the space to truly share the joy of learning.

“Some of our children face an even greater battle, including children in care, young carers, children who suffer bereavement, and those with disabilities or life-limiting conditions. We need those children to thrive too”.

Before entering parliament, Slade accumulated extensive experience in local government. She served as a councillor on Poole Borough Council from 2011 to 2015 and again from 2016 to 2019. She was elected as a member of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council in 2019, and served two terms as council leader (2019-2020 and 2023-2024). In this capacity, Slade led the Three Towns Alliance coalition, made up of a mix of councillors from the Liberal Democrats, Christchurch Independents, Poole People Party and the Bournemouth Independent Group.

Slade stood unsuccessfully as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mid Dorset and North Poole in the 2015, 2017 and 2019 general elections.

Political views

The Liberal Democrats (or Lib Dems) are a liberal political party, occupying the centre to centre-left ground in British politics.

The preamble to the Lib Dem constitution begins: “The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.”

The Liberal Democrat autumn conference in 2021 ratified a policy paper entitled What Liberal Democrats Believe. The paper, an attempt to expand on the constitution’s preamble, was framed around seven “principles and values”.

The party’s core values were described as “liberty, equality, democracy, community, internationalism and environmentalism.”

Slade is a member of the Green Liberal Democrats, an official environmental group within the Liberal Democrats. It aims to “promote a green approach to policy formation within the Liberal Democrats” and “develop links with the wider green movement.” The grouping, formed in 1977 as a faction within the Liberal Party, is “committed to a net-zero and nature positive future and driving ambition across the national party and in local governance.”

Slade is listed as a supporter of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for fair elections – a cross-party group of MPs and peers that campaigns for electoral reform. The group’s stated aims include replacing the first past the post (FPTP) voting system with a form of proportional representation, eliminating “dark money” and “undemocratic influence” from politics, and countering disinformation.

In May 2026, Slade signed an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, calling on the government to establish a “national commission on electoral reform”. Tabled by Alex Sobel as chair of the fair elections APPG, the amendment aimed to force a rethink of the first past the post voting system. At the time, Sobel described FPTP as “one of the biggest examples of a broken status quo in UK politics.” He invited colleagues to join this “common sense call to take a fresh look at how parliament is elected in modern Britain.”

In December 2024, Slade voted in favour of the Elections (Proportional Representation) Bill – introduced by Liberal Democrat frontbencher Sarah Olney under the 10-minute rule procedure. The bill sought to “introduce a system of proportional representation for parliamentary elections and for local government elections in England”.

A total of 138 MPs supported the bill – with 136 opposed. Notably, 59 Labour MPs backed Olney’s bill.

Introducing the bill, Olney told the House: “First past the post is a broken and unfair system. This summer, the Labour party won a landslide election victory, securing 63% of seats in the House of Commons in return for just 34% of the vote.

“The system leaves millions of voices unheard and creates a divisive, adversarial political climate where collaboration is discouraged and accountability is often sidestepped.”

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Slade voted in favour of the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the 10-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union. In total, 13 Labour MPs joined the Liberal Democrats in supporting the motion, while the majority of the party abstained.

Assisted dying

Slade voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Social values and conscience issues

Slade was one of the 38 Liberal Democrat MPs who voted for the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 at its House of Commons third reading.

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Slade voted in favour of a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Before Politics

Slade was born on 17 December 1972. She attended Edenbridge Middle School,Tonbridge Grammar School and Crawley College of Further Education.

Slade worked for a period as a mortgage consultant and in financial services. She was the personal assistant to former Liberal Democrat MP Annette Brooke from 2012 to 2013.

Slade also ran her own business, a café, on a local high street. She ran the cafe for 14 years.

Personal Life

Slade is married. They have four children.

She has hosted a Ukrainian refugee in her home.

Slade told the commons in November 2024: “I host a Ukrainian refugee in my home, as do many other residents of Mid Dorset and North Poole. I want to publicly thank those residents for opening up their homes and to thank the families who joined them for their contribution.”

Trivia

Slade won the Mid Dorset and North Poole seat on her fourth attempt in 2024.