Labour’s Harriet Harman has announced she will not run for her Camberwell and Peckham seat in the next general election.
The former minister said she intended to step back after nearly 40 years in Parliament
Ms Harman, 71, is known as the “Mother of the House” as Britain’s longest-serving female MP, first joining the Commons as MP for the south London seat in 1982.
In an email to constituents, she said: “I feel I can leave the House of Commons now confident that Labour is gaining strength under the leadership of Keir Starmer and the new team he has appointed.
“It has been an overwhelming honour to be Member of Parliament representing and working for the people of Camberwell and Peckham for nearly 40 years.”
Ms Harman served as acting Labour leader in 2015 and deputy labour leader from 2007 to 2015 and has held numerous cabinet and shadow cabinet roles.
Following Tony Blair’s victory in the 1997 election, Ms Harman became secretary of state for social security and the first minister for women.
I will leave the House of Commons with my feminism, my belief in Labour and my enthusiasm for politics undimmed
She added in her email: “I entered the Commons as one of only 11 Labour women MPs in a parliament that was 97% men. Now there are 104 Labour women and across all parties women MPs are a ‘critical mass’.
“But there remains much more to be done till women genuinely share political power with men on equal terms and until women in this country are equal.
“I will leave the House of Commons with my feminism, my belief in Labour and my enthusiasm for politics undimmed.”
Her announcement comes after fellow Labour veterans Barry Sheerman and Dame Margaret Hodge announced their plans to stand down at the next general election.
