THE longest serving female MP has announced she is leaving the Commons.
Harriet Harman said she will not stand again in her Camberwell and Peckham seat at the next general election.
The former Labour minister was praised by Sir Keir Starmer as a “champion for women and social justice”.
Ms Harman, 71, first entered the Commons through a byelection in 1982, and is now known as the “Mother of the House” after almost 40 years of service.
In an email to constituents, she said: “I feel I can leave the House of Commons now, confident that Labour is gaining strength under the leadership of Keir Starmer and the new team he has appointed.
“It has been an overwhelming honour to be Member of Parliament representing and working for the people of Camberwell and Peckham for nearly 40 years.”
She added: “I entered the Commons as one of only 11 Labour women MPs in a parliament that was 97% men. Now there are 104 Labour women and across all parties women MPs are a ‘critical mass’.
“But there remains much more to be done till women genuinely share political power with men on equal terms and until women in this country are equal.
“I will leave the House of Commons with my feminism, my belief in Labour and my enthusiasm for politics undimmed.”
In 2010, the former equalities minister was forced to apologise after a remark seen as anti-ginger.
At the Scottish Labour conference in Oban, she called the then Liberal Democrat Highland MP Danny Alexander a "ginger rodent", prompting him to declare he was "proud to be ginger".
Mr Harman later admitted the comment had been wrong and apologised personally to Mr Alexander, the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury, in a phone call.
Sir Keir said the Labour veteran had “paved the way for future generations”.
Ms Harman served as acting Labour leader in 2015 and deputy Labour leader from 2007 to 2015, and has held numerous cabinet and shadow cabinet roles.
Ed Miliband, who led the party with Ms Harman as his deputy between 2010 and 2015, called “a feminist, fighter, conviction politician”.
He said: “Harriet taught me so much as my first political boss and was a brilliant deputy.
“She has achieved so much and will be sorely missed from the House of Commons.”
Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell said Ms Harman had been a “trail-blazer for women”.
She said: “She’s incredibly effective, very loyal, fierce, formidable and very kind. She taught me so much.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “My friend Harriet has given the people of Camberwell and Peckham, the Labour movement and our country a lifetime of outstanding service.
“This news is a loss to many. On behalf of our city, thank you! We wish you the best, Harriet.”
Following Tony Blair’s victory in the 1997 election, Ms Harman became secretary of state for social security and the first minister for women.”
The announcement comes after fellow Labour veterans Barry Sheerman and Dame Margaret Hodge announced their plans to stand down at the next general election.
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