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Three more London Labour MPs to stand down

House of Commons Outgoing Ealing Southall MP Virendra SharmaHouse of Commons
Outgoing Ealing Southall MP Virendra Sharma says it is time for a new chapter

Three more of London's Labour MPs have announced their plans to stand down at the general election.

John Cryer, the MP for Leyton and Wanstead and chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party since 2015, said he wanted to spend more time with his young children ahead of an "extremely busy and demanding" future for the next government.

Also standing down, Ealing Southall MP Virendra Sharma said in his resignation letter that after 50 years serving the party in one form or another, it was time for a new chapter.

The decision of Lyn Brown, MP for West Ham, to step aside takes the number of London MPs resigning to 14 ahead of an election on 4 July.

Labour Party Lyn BrownLabour Party
Lyn Brown has been an MP since 2005

On Tuesday, Ms Brown said she would not contest the 2024 election "with the heaviest of hearts".

The shadow minister for Africa, who has been an MP since 2005, added her decision was influenced by "poor health including serious conditions that have had increasing impacts on my work".

Mr Cryer, who was MP for Hornchurch from 1997 to 2005, is married to Ellie Reeves, Labour's deputy national campaign coordinator and MP for Lewisham West and Penge.

House of Commons John CryerHouse of Commons
John Cryer is married to Ellie Reeves, the MP for Lewisham West and Penge

In an announcement to his constituents, Mr Cryer said: "This has been an extremely difficult decision, perhaps the most difficult I have ever had to make.

"It has been an immense privilege to have served as your MP for the past 14 years.

"As you may know, I have two young children and I feel I should try to spend more time with them."

Mr Sharma added Labour had "gone from our worst result in a century, to the edge of government".

In a letter to his local party, he said: "As a British-Indian and as a Hindu, as a Labour member, councillor and MP I have never struggled to reconcile those different, but complimentary, identities."

The other London MPs standing down, along with constituency (and party) - in order of announcement - are:

  • Margaret Hodge, Barking (Labour)
  • Harriet Harman, Camberwell and Peckham (Labour)
  • Jon Cruddas, Dagenham and Rainham (Labour)
  • Matthew Offord, Hendon (Conservative)
  • Stephen Hammond, Wimbledon (Conservative)
  • Bob Stewart, Beckenham (Conservative)
  • Karen Buck, Westminster North (Labour)
  • Mike Freer, Finchley and Golders Green (Conservative)
  • Bob Neill, Bromley and Chislehurst (Conservative)
  • Nickie Aitken, Cities of London and Westminster (Conservative)
  • Paul Scully, Sutton and Cheam (Conservative)

Source: House of Commons library

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