Margaret Beckett

A Labour stalwart, Dame Margaret Beckett has been the Labour MP for Derby South since 1983. Born in Ashton-under-Lyne in 1943, Beckett unsuccessfully fought the seat of Lincoln in February 1974 before joining the office of development minister Judith Hart. She won Lincoln the same October. Beckett lost her seat at the 1979 general election, but re-entered parliament in 1983. By 1992, Beckett was shadow leader of the Commons and deputy leader of her party. She became acting Labour leader following the untimely death of John Smith. She finished third in the subsequent leadership contest behind Tony Blair and John Prescott. During Blair’s premiership, Beckett served as president of the board of trade, leader of the Commons, environment secretary, and finally foreign secretary from 2006 to 2007. She is the first and only woman to serve in the role. Beckett was president of the NOtoAV campaign. She nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership in 2015, but later said Labour needed a “miracle” to win under him. She was re-elected in 2019 with a majority of 6,019 and supported Keir Starmer in the leadership election which followed.