Joan Walmsley (Baroness Walmsley of West Derby) was born and brought up in Liverpool. She graduated in Botany from the University of Liverpool in 1966 and, after Laboratory research at Christies Cancer Hospital in Manchester, was awarded a teaching diploma at Manchester Metropolitan University.

After some years teaching and bringing up her family of two children, she worked in a world-leading public relations company and subsequently founded her own firm. She worked during the 80s and 90s for the Liberal cause, fighting elections in the Leeds and Derbyshire areas.

In 2000, Joan was appointed a Life Peer and became the education spokesman for the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords during the Liberal Democrat/ Conservative coalition government, and subsequently the health spokesman. During the Coalition, she was elected Convenor of the hundred strong Liberal Democrat peers group. Subsequently, she was elected Deputy Leader of the group and has continued in that role. She speaks in the House on many issues, including global warming, energy, health and children’s rights.

Joan is a singer and a founder member of the Parliament Choir. She has been a member of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee for many years and, in that capacity, chaired a special report on an aspect of biological education in 2006. She currently chairs the Special Inquiry into Food, Diet and Obesity which will report later this year. For ten years Joan was the chairman of Botanic Gardens Conservation International and, in that capacity, visited many botanic gardens around the world. Joan is also an avid reader but her main leisure activity is gardening.