Dame Margaret Hodge: Veteran Labour MP to stand down at next election
Dame Margaret first became the MP for Barking, in east London, 27 years ago in 1994.
Thursday 2 December 2021 23:29, UK
Veteran Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge has announced she intends to stand down at the next general election.
Dame Margaret, who has been the MP for Barking in east London since 1994, described the decision as "really tough".
In a video message posted on social media, the 77-year-old former cabinet minister thanked people "for all the warmth, the friendship, the support and the love that you've shown me down the years".
Speaking to her local Labour Party, Dame Margaret said they had "done fantastic things together", adding: "I love the job."
Telling her constituents that her proudest moment was beating former leader of the British National Party, Nick Griffin, in the 2010 election, she added she would always remember a speech when she "told them to pack their bags and go".
Dame Margaret also reflected on how different the Labour Party is today in comparison to when she became an MP 27 years ago.
During her time in politics, she served as a minister in several departments, including education, work and pensions, and culture, and chaired the influential Public Accounts Committee.
More recently, Dame Margaret was a prominent critic of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and accused him of denying the problem of anti-Semitism within the Labour Party.
Many of the veteran Labour MPs' colleagues paid tribute to her work following the announcement.
Shadow health minister Liz Kendall said she had been "an inspiration" and described her as "passionate, principled, tough, warm, feisty, fun".
Shadow domestic violence and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips tweeted: "Margaret is my friend, but more than that, Margaret is one of the women who was in government, when I was having and raising my kids, working in refuge and caring for my dying mom.
"My god could I feel that those women cared about my family and our chances. I owe women like her so much."
Meanwhile, Labour's new shadow Northern Ireland secretary Peter Kyle described Dame Margaret as "courageous, driven, and full of love and laughter", adding "it tugs at my heartstrings that she's standing down".