Jess Brown-Fuller is the Liberal Democrat MP for Chichester, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Brown-Fuller won 25,540 votes, representing 49.2% of the vote. The Conservative candidate, Gillian Keegan, received 13,368 votes (25.7%). The Reform UK candidate, Teresa De Santis, secured 7,859 votes (15.1%). Brown-Fuller was duly elected with a majority of 12,172.

The Chichester constituency is located in West Sussex, South East England. The seat has existed since 1295 and, in its various modern forms, was held continuously by the Conservative Party from 1924 until the Liberal Democrats gained it in 2024.

Brown-Fuller’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Chichester was Gillian Keegan of the Conservative Party. Keegan was education secretary at the time of the 2024 election.

Political Career

Brown-Fuller currently serves on the Liberal Democrat frontbench as justice spokesperson. She was appointed to this role in September 2025.

Brown-Fuller previously served as Liberal Democrat spokesperson for hospitals and primary care (September 2024 – September 2025).

At least one report has described Brown-Fuller as a “rising star”.

Brown-Fuller has served as a member of the House of Commons backbench business committee (2024-2025).

Brown-Fuller is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for Formula 1 and motorsport, grief support and the impact of death on society, infant feeding and performing arts education and training.

Brown-Fuller delivered her maiden speech on 30 July 2024 in a debate on the Budget Responsibility Bill.

In it, she said: “The average house price in Chichester is an eye-watering £455,000, and residents regularly express dismay at their increasing rents and mortgages after the disastrous mini-budget. They are trying to make progress in their lives, but are being pulled back under the immense strain of increasing cost pressures.”

She added: “Chichester had had a Conservative MP since 1868, except for a brief spell in 1923 when it flirted with Liberalism for just 12 months.

“On 4 July, residents went to the polling stations and voted for change, whether they were traditional Conservative voters or Labour and Green voters lending me their support.

“We made political history that night. I recognise the weight of responsibility on my shoulders to do every single one of those people proud and to represent the area in which I had the pleasure of growing up. It is a privilege and an honour.”

Before entering parliament, Brown-Fuller was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor on Chichester District Council in May 2023. She stood down in March 2025.

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.”

Brown-Fuller 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, Brown-Fuller 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, Brown-Fuller 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

Brown-Fuller voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at second reading (November 2024). However, she went on to vote against at third reading (June 2025).

In a statement addressing her change of vote, Brown-Fuller said: “I supported the bill at second reading for two reasons: first, because I am not opposed to the principle of assisted dying and fundamentally believe that people should have a choice at the end of their life; and second, because I was keen for the conversation to continue and for the bill to be debated further at its committee stage.

“In the months since the bill’s second reading, I have heard the strength of feeling on both sides of the argument…

As hospitals and primary care spokesperson for my party, I have the privilege of speaking with health professionals in a wide range of medical settings on a regular basis.

“I couldn’t reconcile the legitimate concerns they have raised with me over recent months. I also couldn’t see the lack of quality palliative care being addressed during this parliament, and a choice made in the absence of truly excellent palliative care is not a real choice at all.”

Brown-Fuller was one of 14 MPs to oppose the bill at third reading having supported it at second reading.

Social values and conscience issues

Brown-Fuller 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): Brown-Fuller 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, Brown-Fuller 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 Jessica Sian Louise Brown-Fuller in August 1990 in Norwich, Norfolk, she moved with her family to West Sussex.

She graduated from the University of Chichester’s Department of Theatre in 2013 with a degree in performing arts.

Personal Life

Brown-Fuller lives in Midhurst with her husband and their two children.

Her father is from London and her mother is Welsh.

Brown-Fuller’s mother, Yvonne Gravely, was elected to West Sussex County Council in May 2025.

At the time, she said: “Normally in life, a parent teaches the child; in this case it was my daughter Jess Brown-Fuller, now MP for Chichester, who inspired me to stand, and I am especially grateful to her for her unwavering support and advice, giving so much of her time to help when she herself is so busy.”

Trivia

Brown-Fuller is the first non-Conservative MP elected to parliament for the constituency of Chichester since 1924.