Sharon Bowles is Liberal Democrat MEP for the South East of England.

Why did you get involved in the political world?

I was angry at the rundown of industry under Thatcher, and the sell-out to drug companies under TRIPS, the WTO’s agreement on intellectual property in 1994.


When did you join your political party?

1986.


What is your earliest political memory?

Running as the Liberal candidate in my school election in 1966.


Which one law would you repeal?

42 days detention without charge.


Which one law would you introduce?

Proportional representation for Westminster, having seen the advantages of a proportional chamber in the EU.


What’s your favourite view in the world?

My garden.


What’s your favourite political quotation?

“I agree with Mme. Bowles.”


What music gets you up to dance?

I used to do ballroom and Latin dancing, and also competed as a go-go dancer in my teens, so anything rhythmical gets me up to dance!


If you could have been present at any debate in the House of Commons over the last three hundred years, which would it have been , and why?

The repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846.


Imagine you are planning a dinner party, pick six people (living or dead) to invite

Leonardo da Vinci, Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin, Agatha Christie, Charles Darwin and Beethoven.


What’s your favourite form of transport?

My feet.


What’s your favourite dish?

Lamb shanks


Do you have any phobias?

Questionnaires!


When did you last cry, and why?

Watching the Olympic rowing finals. After pride, disappointment and regrets I gave up.


What’s the last thing you bought in a shop?

A tin whistle I bought in a tourist shop in Ireland, but by the time this is read it will be clothes.


What is the best speech you have ever heard (and been present at)?

Professor Sir Nevill Mott in 1975 on the future development of amorphous semiconductors.


Who’s your favourite comedian?

Paul Merton.


Name a book you have read which has failed to live up to expectations

Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, and Three Junes by Julia Glass.


Who would you like to say sorry to, and why?

My parents for not being able to see them often enough.


What job would you be doing if you weren’t involved in the political world?

Patent attorney


What’s the best holiday you have been on?

Crete.


When was the last time you used public transport?

I use a train most weeks, commuting between Brussels and home, and frequently for elsewhere.


What do you collect?

Paperweights.


When was the last time you went to the theatre and what did you see?

I never get the time these days. My last visit was several years ago – I saw The Magic Flute at the English National Opera.


Which newspapers do you read regularly?

Financial Times, Independent, Guardian, Observer, Wall Street Journal, European Voice, International Herald Tribune.


Which websites do you visit regularly?

Yahoo Weather – it’s always relevant!


Which magazines do you subscribe to?

The Economist, The Week, Time and Private Eye.


Which five words would your friends use about you?

They haven’t told me.


Which five words would your enemies use about you?

I haven’t asked.


Are you into sport? If so, which ones?

Cricket, and all types of others on TV. I used to compete internationally at rowing and archery when I was younger, and was reasonable at hockey, badminton and squash, and also played football and rugby before it was fashionable for women.


Who is your political hero?

To be honest, I don’t admire people in politics: that is not my background. I admire many scientists and engineers and as I get older I have a growing appreciation of the arts.


Who is your political hate figure?

Robert Mugabe.


What’s your most memorable time in politics?

It’s definitely yet to come.


What’s your most embarrassing moment in politics?

Forgetting the detail of constitutional amendments that I was moving at a party conference. Fortunately everyone was so bored they didn’t notice.


What’s your prediction for the next general election?

A Liberal Democrat landslide!


Who is your favourite and least favourite political interviewer?

Most favourite are those who are interested in Europe and MEPs. Least favourite are those who cannot see beyond Westminster.


What do you never miss on TV?

Midsomer Murders is filmed in my constituency, quite near to where I live, so I like to watch to spot the landmarks. And of course I never miss the news.


What do you listen to / watch when you get up in the morning?

The news and recently the Olympics.


Complete this sentence: The thing I hate about politics is...

Its detachment from reality.


Complete this sentence: The thing I love about politics is...

That it can change bad practices.


What would you like your political epitaph to be?

“I wish she’d stayed longer.”