Labour MP targeted by neo-Nazi stands down

A LABOUR MP who was the target of a neo-Nazi murder plot announced yesterday that she will stand down from her Commons seat, sparking Liz Truss’s first by-election test.

Rosie Cooper said that ‘after a considerable period of soul-searching and reflection’ she was leaving her role as West Lancashire MP to become chairman of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust.

Five years ago, white supremacist Jack Renshaw plotted to hack the MP to death in a bid to emulate the murder of Jo Cox, another Labour MP. He was jailed for life in 2019.

Miss Cooper, who was elected in 2005, said it had been an ‘incredible honour and privilege’ to serve as West Lancashire MP.

In a statement posted yesterday she said she had ‘loved every minute’ of being an MP. But she added: ‘The events I have faced over the last few years are well documented and undoubtedly have taken their toll.’

Labour took the West Lancashire constituency from the Tories in 1992 and currently has a majority of around 8,000.