Margaret Hodge defeats bid to have her dumped as Labour election candidate
2 min read
Margaret Hodge has defeated an attempt by supporters of Jeremy Corbyn to have her dumped as a Labour MP.
The party veteran had been forced to face a reselection contest in her Barking and Dagenham seat after being triggered by local activists.
Mrs Hodge, who is Jewish and has represented the seat since 1994, has been an outspoken critic of Mr Corbyn's attempts to tackle anti-semitism by Labour members.
It is understood that she secured the support of more than 50% of members in her constituency in the first round of voting on Monday night.
She tweeted "Victory!" when the result was confirmed shortly before 10.30pm.
Labour member James Slater said: "It’s been a pleasure to organise the campaign to keep Margaret as the hardworking MP for Barking & Dagenham! This whole process has been an unhelpful distraction but at least we’ve got the right result and a Labour candidate ready to win."
A Labour insider told PoliticsHome: "Margaret has been targeted by the anti-semites in Labour but the community she has loyally served, where she defeated the BNP, has overwhelmingly shown they have her back and want her to keep fighting for them."
London mayor Sadiq Khan was among the politicians who congratulated Mrs Hodge on Twitter. He said: "Congratulations to @margarethodge - reselected by Labour members to continue her work representing the people of Barking and Dagenham in Parliament."
And referring to her times as chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Labour MP Anna Turley said: "Tax dodgers beware - @margarethodge is back."
In a statement, the Board of Deputies of British Jews said: "Congratulations to @MargaretHodge on her emphatic reselection. Trolls who opposed her reckoned without Margaret’s strength & popularity.
"Not lost on anyone that Labour’s so-called ‘anti-racist’ leader missing in action as his drones tried to force out another Jewish MP."
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