Brexiteer Labour MP Kate Hoey has announced that she will quit parliament at the next election.
Hoey, 73, has been a controversial figure within Labour in recent years due to her vocal campaigning to leave the EU while representing the staunchly Remain constituency of Vauxhall.
Local grassroots members in 2018 launched a bid to have her suspended and barred from standing for Labour after helping Theresa May stay in power by voting with her on key Brexit legislation.
Her decision to stand down comes ahead of Labour’s Monday night deadline for MPs to confirm they want to stand as a candidate at the next general election, a process which could have put Hoey at risk of deselection.
In a letter to her constituents, Hoey said she was simply following through on a previous pledge not to stand for re-election from 2020 onwards, having been persuaded to fight the unexpected snap election of 2017.
She said: “Having stated at the 2015 general election that I would not seek re-election in 2020 I was persuaded to fight the unexpected general election of 2017.
“Now that the national Labour party has started the process for the 2022 election I have decided that after 30 years as the MP for Vauxhall I will not seek re-election as a Labour candidate.
“Until the next general election I will of course continue every single day to give my all to help my constituents in Vauxhall and to campaign for policies that make life better for residents.
“I will carry on until a general election serving with the energy, honesty and integrity I have tried to bring to public service my whole life.”
Momentum, the left-wing grassroots group, said it would be backing a pro-Corbyn candidate for Vauxhall while criticising Hoey’s record.
HuffPost UK understands that Momentum national coordinator Laura Parker and senior Corbyn staffer Katy Clark could be early contenders to replace Hoey.
A Momentum spokesperson said: “Kate Hoey is a no-deal supporting, anti-gay rights, fox hunting advocate who shared a platform with Nigel Farage.
“She couldn’t be more out of step with her Vauxhall constituents, and we look forward to backing a Corbyn supporting, socialist candidate in an open selection.”
Naomi Smith, CEO of the Best for Britain pro-EU campaign, said: “Kate Hoey has let her constituents and her local Labour Party down for years.
“Her lasting legacy will be as a Labour MP in London who tried her best to help force through Boris Johnson’s damaging Brexit.
“Good riddance to her. It’s time for an internationalist Labour politician to take her place and help the country stop Brexit.”
Later, it emerged that longstanding Ealing North MP Stephen Pound, 71, and Commons development committee chair Stephen Twigg, who represents West Derby in Liverpool, were also standing down at the next election.
Their decisions to quit came after veteran MPs Sir Kevin Barron, Ronnie Campbell and Jim Fitzpatrick announced their departures.
More Labour MPs could follow before Monday night’s reselection deadline.