Top Labour Brexiteer Kate Hoey to stand down

One of the leading Brexiteers in the Labour party, Kate Hoey has said she will stand down as MP for Vauxhall at the next election.

Ms Hoey said that after 30 years representing the constituency she would “not seek re-election as a Labour candidate”.

With Labour MPS having to declare by yesterday whether they intend to stand again, Ms Hoey was joined by fellow veteran MPS and former ministers Stephen Twigg and Stephen Pound, who also announced their departure at the next election.

Critics of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party have claimed the “trigger ballot” process, which allows local constituency members to force their sitting MP into a selection contest if there is enough support, is being used to “purge” dissident voices from the Labour parliamentary group.

Last year, Ms Hoey suffered a vote of no confidence from her local party, which accused her of ignoring the views of her constituents over Brexit.

The Borough of Lambeth, which includes the Vauxhall constituency, voted 78.6 per cent to stay in the EU in the 2016 referendum – the highest proportion of Remain voters of any area aside from Gibraltar.

The Brexit Party issued a message of support for Ms Hoey.