Kate Hoey has announced she will not seek re-election after 30 years as the Labour member for Vauxhall.
The 73-year-old tweeted a letter to constituents announcing her decision. She wrote: “Until the next general election I will of course continue every single day to give my all to help constituents in Vauxhall and to campaign for policies that make life better for residents.”
The Labour MP, who has represented the south London constituency since 1989, has become an increasingly controversial figure in recent years. She campaigned alongside Nigel Farage in favour of leaving the European Union during the referendum campaign.
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The Borough of Lambeth, which includes Vauxhall, voted 78.6 per cent to stay in the European Union in the 2016 referendum - the “highest proportion of Remain voters of any area aside from Gibraltar”, says the London Evening Standard.
The Guardian says that Hoey “has consistently voted with the government to stop efforts for a soft Brexit or to oppose no deal” and points out “local anger grew” when she backed an amendment to the customs bill put forward by Jacob Rees-Mogg’s pro-Brexit European Research Group ruling out a customs border in the Irish Sea.
Last year, Hoey “suffered a vote of no confidence from her local party last year, when she was accused of ignoring her constituents over Brexit”, Sky News reports.
In addition, community website LondonSE1 says that Hoey has “long been a thorn in the side of Lambeth Council – whose Labour administration she has been unafraid to criticise”, adding that she has had a “difficult relationship” with her constituency party in recent years.
Labour’s left-wing Momentum group welcomed the news, accusing Hoey of being a “no deal supporting, anti gay rights, fox hunting advocate”.
The pro-Corbyn group tweeted: “She couldn't be more out of step with her Vauxhall constituents, and we look forward to backing a Corbyn supporting, socialist candidate in an open selection.”
According to The Guardian, those rumoured to be considering a run against Hoey are Laura Parker, Momentum’s national coordinator, and Katy Clark, a former Labour MP who currently works for Jeremy Corbyn.
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