MP For Taunton
Ballard was elected the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Taunton, at the 1997 general election, beating the sitting MP David Nicholson (Conservative) by 2,443 votes.
During her time as an MP, Jackie was a very vocal and prominent campaigner against blood sports, in particular fox hunting and stag hunting. Taunton is often seen as the centre of stag hunting in the United Kingdom and Jackie Ballard came under considerable pressure due to her stance, once having to receive police protection during a constituency surgery which was lobbied by hunt supporters. It has been suggested that her work with regards to this ban contributed to her losing her seat and prepared the way for her role as CEO of the RSPCA.
In Parliament, she was spokesperson on Women's Issues and on Local Government from 1997 to 1999 and from 1999 to 2001 was Deputy Home Affairs Spokesman. She was also co-sponsor of the first bill which attempted to ban fox hunting, which is widely seen as an important factor in her defeat at the 2001 election. She also stood for the post of leader of the Liberal Democrats in 1999, but was defeated by Charles Kennedy, and came fourth out of five candidates.
Ballard lost her seat at the 2001 general election by 235 votes, to the Conservative candidate Adrian Flook.
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