ONE of the Liberal Democrats' most prominent figures is giving up her seat on Suffolk County Council to concentrate on national politics.Baroness (Ros) Scott of Needham Market is not seeking re-election next month, having served on the authority for 12 years, including a spell as Chairman of the Rights of Way Committee.

By Graham Dines

ONE of the Liberal Democrats' most prominent figures is giving up her seat on Suffolk County Council to concentrate on national politics.

Baroness (Ros) Scott of Needham Market is not seeking re-election next month, having served on the authority for 12 years, including a spell as Chairman of the Rights of Way Committee.

Nominations for this year's elections on May 5 close at noon tomorrow and Lady Scott said: "I am leaving with regret but I am taking an increasingly bigger role as a front bench spokesman in the House of Lords and I am unable to devote the time that I would wish to my county council duties.

"I have enjoyed serving the people of Bosmere division - being a local councillor is the most worthwhile role a politician can undertake."

Lady Scott said she hoped to devote more time to raising Suffolk issues in the House of Lords.

Ros Scott, who lives just outside Needham Market, is 47 and served on Mid Suffolk district council from 1991-94. She was elected to county hall in 1993, the year in which more than 100 years of Conservative rule was ended by a joint administration of Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

During her first years, she graduated as a mature student in 1999 from the University of East Anglia with a BA in European studies.

She was a appointed to serve on the European Union's Committee of the Regions in 1998 and was created a life peer in 2000 on the recommendation of Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy.

She is her party's spokesman in the House of Lords on transport issues and her reputation on the national stage has been enhanced by appearances on radio and television

May's county council elections in England will be the first for four years and will be held on the same day as the General Elections. The number of seats on the authority has been reduced from 80 to 75 and the Conservatives are hoping to take control from Labour and the Lib Dems.