Anne was educated at Haywards Heath Grammar School in Sussex, and trained as a nurse at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London.

Anne worked for the NHS for 25 years and has a wide range of experience within the NHS, including district nursing in hospital, working in research and supporting GPs and nurses working in palliative care. She also pioneered a scheme to look after people who were sent home early from hospital.

Her last job in the NHS was to give medical advice to councils and housing associations.

Anne became involved in politics in the early 1990s, though in the past she was a union steward for the Royal College of Nursing and involved in the National Childbirth Trust after that.

Before being elected as an MP in 2005, Anne was a borough councillor for five years in Surrey. In November 2006, Anne was appointed Shadow Minister for Tourism in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport team. In July 2007, she was appointed as a Shadow Minister for Health.