A "One Nation" Tory, Angela Browning caused a stir in the 1997 general election when she broke ranks and issued a newsletter saying a single European currency would spell "the end of sovereignty of the nation-state". After the election, she was appointed junior Tory education spokeswoman in return for performing well as junior agriculture minister during the e.coli and beef crises. But she resigned a year later to look after her autistic second son, Robin, who suffers from the rare Asperger's Syndrome. William Hague brought her back as a member of the shadow cabinet in June 1999, putting yet another Eurosceptic into a key post. Before entering politics, she was a home economics teacher and also worked as a sales manager, specialising in marketing and credit control. She decided she wanted to be an MP in her thirties, got involved with her local party and was elected to a safe seat in rural Devon in 1992. She is keen on helping small businesses and working women, campaigns on disabled rights and is a special counsellor for the National Autistic Society.