Charlotte Cane is the Liberal Democrat MP for Ely and East Cambridgeshire, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Cane won 17,127 votes, representing 32.7% of the vote. The Conservative candidate, Lucy Frazer, received 16,632 votes (31.8%), while the Labour candidate, Elizabeth McWilliams, secured 9,160 votes (17.5%). Cane was duly elected with a majority of 495.

The Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency is located in Cambridgeshire, East of England. It was created for the 2024 general election, formed primarily from the former South East Cambridgeshire constituency along with parts of neighbouring seats.

Lucy Frazer, the sitting culture secretary at the time of the 2024 general election, represented the South East Cambridgeshire seat from 2015 to 2024. The former constituency elected Conservative MPs at every election from 1983 to 2019.

Political Career

Cane is a member of the House of Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee (since October 2024). Pacac examines how the country is run, covering both the machinery of government and the UK’s constitutional rules. It is the principal select committee to which Cabinet Office ministers are accountable.

Cane is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for arts and heritage, classics, craft and sustainable flood and drought management.

Cane delivered her maiden speech on 6 November 2024 in a debate on the budget.

In it, she said: “Ely and East Cambridgeshire is a dental desert. I am horrified to say that people cannot get on an NHS dental list in my constituency. That has to change. I have met people who have spent their life savings on dental treatment or people who, for heaven’s sake, have done it themselves. It is horrendous and we have to address it.

“It is very expensive to buy or rent a home, which is pricing out young people and families. The median price of a house in my constituency is 11 times the average salary, and the rental market follows on from that, basically. It is unaffordable for many people. On top of that, a lot of our affordable housing is badly insulated, and people rely on oil for their heating.”

She added: “My great-grandfather grew up in the workhouse around Stoke-on-Trent. My parents were the first people in their families to go to university, and they always brought me up to believe that I could do anything I wanted as long as I worked hard on it.

“I first stood for parliament in 1987, and mum and dad helped me with that campaign. Sadly, my dad died a few years ago, but my mum supported my election campaign this year, and I know that dad would have been really pleased to see me elected to this House, just as mum was.”

Cane has considerable experience in local government. She was a Liberal Democrat councillor on East Cambridgeshire District Council from 1999 to 2003. She was re-elected to the council in 2019 and remained a councillor at the time of the 2024 general election.

Cane was the leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council between 1999 and 2002.

Cane previously stood unsuccessfully as the Liberal/Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for the Birmingham Selly Oak constituency in the 1987 general election and Harlow at the 2019 election.

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.”

Cane 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.”

Cane is listed as a member 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 December 2024, Cane 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, Cane 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

Cane 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

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

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Cane 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.

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Cane was among the over 254 MPs to sign a cross-party letter calling for the government to immediately recognise the state of Palestine. The letter called on the prime minister and foreign secretary to recognise Palestine at the UN Conference then taking place in New York.

Before Politics

Born Charlotte Kathryn Bourne Hilton in June 1958, her father served in the army and her mother was a teacher. She attended St Helen’s School in North West London.

Cane then studied ancient history and archaeology at the University of Birmingham.

She initially worked alongside her husband, whom she met at university, as a field archaeologist. She subsequently retrained as a chartered accountant with KPMG.

Cane later worked as the director of finance and administration for the Wildlife Trust, head of finance, hr and operations at the University of Cambridge and director of finance and services at Engineeringuk.

Personal Life

Cane moved to Reach, Cambridgeshire, in 1994. She has two children.

Trivia

Cane worked as a field archaeologist before retraining as an accountant.