Baroness Thomas of Winchester has been a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords since 2006. She was the Lib Dem Lords Spokesperson for Disability and sat on the House of Lords Procedure Committee and the Consolidation Bills Joint Committee. She is a former member and initiator of the Equality Act 2010 and Disability Committee, was Chairman of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee and a member of the Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee.

A founding member of the Winchester Liberal Party in the 1960s, Celia Thomas worked in the Commons for the then Liberal Party Leader Jeremy Thorpe from 1975- 76. From 1977 to 2005 she headed up the Liberal (Democrat) Whips’ Office in the House of Lords, becoming an expert in Lords’ procedure.

Baroness Thomas was awarded an MBE in the 1985 Birthday Honours list.