All the Labour and SNP MPs not standing in the general election

Over 100 MPs from multiple parties in the Commons have announced they won’t stand again at the general election, with more expected to announce their resignations before Parliament dissolves.

It comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced this week that the next general election would be held on 4 July 2024.

Many Labour veterans had already confirmed their plans to depart including Harriet Harman, the longest-serving female MP, and Dame Margaret Beckett, the first female foreign secretary.

Several SNP MPs are also standing down as well as the only Green Party MP in the Commons, Caroline Lucas.

Here are some of the key Labour and SNP figures standing down at the general election:

Labour

Harriet Harman

Harriet Harman also chaired the Privileges Committee which ruled Boris Johnson had misled Parliament (Photo: House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Wire)

Former Cabinet minister and veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman announced in 2021 that she did not intend to stand in the next general election.

The Labour MP, aged 73, is currently dubbed the “Mother of the House” as she is the longest-serving female MP in the Commons.

She is also the chair of the human rights committee and has held a swathe of prominent roles during her parliamentary career including six Government posts, 11 shadow positions and even had two brief stints as leader of the Labour Party after Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband stepped down.

Ms Harman was first elected as the MP for Peckham in the October 1982 by-election. In 1997, the Peckham constituency was succeeded by Camberwell and Peckham – of which Ms Harman has been the only MP elected to the seat.

Dame Margaret Beckett

Margaret Beckett speaking at the Labour Party conference in Brighton (Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

Dame Margaret Beckett, who was first elected to the Commons in 1974, announced in 2022 that she would not be seeking re-election.

She was the first woman to hold the post of foreign secretary under Tony Blair, and also briefly held the title of acting Labour Party leader following the sudden death of John Smith in 1994.

She remains the only sitting MP to have served as a minister and junior minister under the last four Labour prime ministers.

The 81-year-old was first elected as MP for Derby South in 1983, having previously been the MP for Lincoln between 197 and 1979.

Dame Margaret Hodge

Dame Margaret Hodge has been an outspoken critic of Jeremy Corbyn (Photo: Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror/PA Wire)

Former minister Dame Margaret Hodge, who has been the MP for Barking since 1994, confirmed in 2021 that she would be leaving the Commons after the next election.

She held several ministerial posts under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown before going on to head the influential public accounts committee between 2010 and 2015.

Dame Margaret was a vocal critic of Jeremy Corbyn over his handling of antisemitism in the party and repeatedly called for his resignation in the run-up to the 2019 general election.

Dame Rosie Winterton

Dame Rosie Winterton (Photo: Getty)

Dame Rosie Winterton, the deputy speaker of the House of Commons, announced in 2022 that she would stand down at the next general election.

As well as serving as deputy to Sir Lindsay Hoyle, she also served under Speaker John Bercow and prior to that was the opposition chief whip between 2010 and 2016.

She also held several ministerial posts under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown including pensions minister, transport minister and Yorkshire minister.

SNP

Ian Blackford

Ian Blackford is the SNP’s former Westminster leader (Photo: PA)

Ian Blackford, former leader of the SNP in Westminster, announced last year he would stand again in Ross, Skye and Lochaber, a seat he has held since 2015.

During his five years as the party’s Westminster leader, he faced four different Conservative prime ministers and was seen as a staunch ally of the party’s former leader Nicola Sturgeon.

Having been elected to the post in 2017, he stepped down as leader of the Commons SNP group in 2022 following backlash over his support for SNP MP Patrick Grady, who had been accused of sexual misconduct.

Mhairi Black

Mhairi Black was first elected to Westminster in 2015 when she was only 20 years old (Photo: Getty)

Mhairi Black, currently the deputy leader of the Westminster SNP group, announced she would not seek reelection in 2023.

She joined the Commons as the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South in 2015 when she was 20 years old, making her the youngest MP to join the Commons since 1832.

Confirming her plans to step down last year, she told The News Agents podcast that working in Westminster was “toxic” and it was “one of the most unhealthy workplaces that you could ever be in”.

And finally…

Caroline Lucas

Caroline Lucas is the Green Party’s only MP (Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty)

Caroline Lucas, the Green Party’s first-ever MP, announced last year that she will not be standing again at the next general election.

In 2010, Ms Lucas became the first ever Green Party MP to take a seat in Parliament after winning the constituency of Brighton Pavillion with a majority of 1,252.

She was also the first woman ever to win the seat and increased her majority in every subsequent election, most recently holding it in 2019 with a majority of 19,940.

During her time in parliament, she campaigned against The Sun newspaper’s Page Three feature was arrested at a non-violent anti-fracking protest and secured the first-ever debate on reforming the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Other notable moments include her many Commons interventions, which included her criticising Jacob Rees-Mogg for lying down in a debate and confronting Boris Johnson about Russian interference in elections.

Here are all the Labour MPs standing down at the next general election:

• Dame Margaret Beckett, MP for Derby South since 1983 (2019 majority: 6,019)
• Paul Blomfield, MP for Sheffield Central since 2010 (2019 majority: 27,273)
• Sir Ben Bradshaw, MP for Exeter since 1997 (2019 majority: 10,403)
• Karen Buck, MP for Westminster North since 1997 (2019 majority: 10,759)
• Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham and Rainham since 2001 (2019 majority: 293)
• Alex Cunningham, MP for Stockton North since 2010 (2019 majority: 1,027)
• Wayne David, MP for Caerphilly since 2001 (2019 majority: 6,833)
• Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover (elected as Conservative MP in 2019; 2019 majority: 12,278; defected to Labour in 2024)
• Colleen Fletcher, MP for Coventry North East since 2015 (2019 majority: 7,692)
• Margaret Greenwood, MP for Wirral West since 2015 (2019 majority: 3,003)
• Harriet Harman, MP for Camberwell and Peckham since 1982 (2019 majority: 33,780)
• Dame Margaret Hodge, MP for Barking since 1994 (2019 majority: 15,427)
• Sir George Howarth, MP for Knowsley since 1986 (2019 majority: 39,942)
• Holly Lynch, MP for Halifax since 2015 (2019 majority: 2,569)
• Ian Mearns, MP for Gateshead since 2010 (2019 majority: 7,200)
• Dan Poulter, MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (elected as Conservative MP in 2010; 2019 majority: 23,391; defected to Labour in 2024)
• Christina Rees, MP for Neath since 2015 (2019 majority: 5,637)
• Barry Sheerman, MP for Huddersfield since 1979 (2019 majority: 9,437)
• Alan Whitehead, MP for Southampton Test since 1997 (2019 majority: 6,213)
• Dame Rosie Winterton, MP for Doncaster Central since 1997 (2019 majority: 2,278)

Here are the former Labour MPs who have since lost the party whip and have announced they are standing down:

• Nick Brown, MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East since 1983 (2019 majority: 15,463)
• Conor McGinn, MP for St Helens North since 2015 (2019 majority: 12,209)

Here are the SNP MPs who are standing down:

• Mhairi Black, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South since 2015 (2019 majority: majority 10,679)
• Ian Blackford, MP for Ross, MP for Skye and Lochaber since 2015 (2019 majority: majority 9,443)
• Douglas Chapman, MP for Dunfermline and West Fife since 2015 (2019 majority: majority 10,699)
• Angela Crawley, MP for Lanark and Hamilton East since 2015 (2019 majority: majority 5,187)
• Patrick Grady, MP for Glasgow North since 2015 (2019 majority: majority 5,601)
• Peter Grant, MP for Glenrothes since 2015 (2019 majority: majority 11,757)
• Stewart Hosie, MP for Dundee East since 2005 (2019 majority: majority 13,375)
• John McNally, MP for Falkirk since 2015 (2019 majority: majority 14,948)
• Philippa Whitford, MP for Central Ayrshire since 2015 (2019 majority: majority 5,304)

Here are the MPs from other parties who are standing down:

• Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion since 2010 (2019 majority: majority 19,940)
• Hywel Williams, Plaid Cymru MP for Arfon since 2001 (2019 majority: majority 2,781)

Click here to see all the Conservative MPs standing down at the next general election.