Kate Hoey, the Labour MP, Brexiteer and serial rebel, has today announced plans to stand down at the next election. In a letter announcing her retirement, the MP for Vauxhall promises to carry on until a general election (whether that’s this year or 2022) ‘serving with the energy, honesty and integrity that I have tried to bring to public service my whole life’. Her decision comes after the Labour party gave its MPs the deadline of today to say whether they wished to seek re-election. That deadline led many to worry that it could lead to deselection attempts by local members after the threshold to spark a re-selection contest was reduced to 33 per cent of the Constituency Labour Party (CLP).
Kate Hoey’s re-selection form
Was this a factor in Hoey’s decision? Given that Hoey previously lost a non-binding no-confidence vote by her local party over her pro-Brexit position (sparked by her decision to rebel in a crunch customs union vote), it likely has been on her mind.
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