Delighted West Ham MP Lyn Brown was beaming last week as her beloved dog was crowned runner-up in the public vote of the Westminster Dog of the Year competition.

Cara, her one-year-old Yorkshire terrier, narrowly missed out on being the official top dog of Parliament to Star, a Norfolk terrier owned by Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke.

The annual competition, hosted by Dog’s Trust and The Kennel Club, is celebrating its 20th birthday this year with MPs canvassing for votes on their dog’s behalf in their constituencies.

Competing against 24 political pooches, Cara was crowned runner-up at Victoria Tower Gardens, in Westminster, after she scored 3,000 more votes than any other dog online but failed to get into top three overall.

Race

They included Clarissa Baldwin, chief executive officer of Dogs Trust, Caroline Kisko, secretary of the Kennel Club and 2011’s winning owner Tiverton and Honiton MP Neil Parish. Cara then competed in a Doggy Dash racing contest towards Ms Brown.