Labour’s Margaret Hodge Facing Reselection Battle After Members Trigger Challenge

Former minister Margaret Hodge is facing a fight to remain as an MP after her local Labour party ‘triggered’ a reselection challenge.

Activists in her Barking and Dagenham constituency sparked the run-off during a string of local meetings on Saturday, HuffPost UK can reveal.

With a general election looming, the move means Hodge is the second Labour MP to be triggered by her local party. Hull MP Diana Johnson has also been plunged into an internal Labour fight to keep her seat.

Under new rules passed last year by the party’s conference, only a third of constituency branches are needed to trigger a reselection, whereas under previous rules just 50% were required.

In Hodge’s seat, 5 out of the 11 branches voted for a contest. Six backed the sitting MP, local sources said.

One particular ward, Longbridge, there were 30 votes against the MP and just seven for. But in others, she lost by a handful of votes.

The former minister has clashed repeatedly with Jeremy Corbyn over the party’s anti-Semitism controversy, accusing him of failing to grip the issue.

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission watchdog is currently investigating Labour for alleged institutional anti-Semitism.

Hodge said: “I am obviously disappointed. My priority remains serving the people of Barking as I have done for the last 25 years.

“At a vital time for the country, with a general election looming, we should be focusing our efforts on holding Boris Johnson and the Tories to account. I will work to secure the full backing of Barking Labour Party, so I can continue to play my part as their MP in doing that.”

Former deputy leader Harriet Harman, who was herself targeted by activist recently, expressed her dismay.