Margaret Beckett

Think of any of the Foreign Secretaries who followed Robin Cook – Jack Straw, Margaret Beckett, David Miliband, William Hague, Philip Hammond – some better than ... A few months ago, I received a Whatsapp message from a senior minister in a foreign government who had met Johnson for the first time.

He said if pro-Corbyn forces succeeded in de-selecting what he called good, hard-working MPs who were potential Cabinet ministers it would cause ... Former foreign secretary Dame Margaret Beckett said Labour's increased membership meant “you have got a few that are causing problems that we didn't ...

In his response to the prime minister's Commons statement announcing the measures, Mr Corbyn called for a "decisive and proportionate response ... But Mr Corbyn has been defended by former Labour foreign secretary Dame Margaret Beckett, who said he was right to press the PM on the details of her ...

Despite attempts to undermine her, Beckett was regarded as one of the safest pair of hands during Blair's tenure and popped up regularly to defend the government during media firestorms, earning her the tag of 'minister for Newsnight'. I ask her if being a woman was a handicap in terms of her leadership ...

In contrast with the Conservatives and Whigs/Liberals, who have represented privilege for centuries, Labour is just getting started. There have been only six Labour prime ministers and the party has had just 19 leaders. This excludes the two women – Margaret Beckett and Harriet Harman – and George ...

Former cabinet minister Dame Margaret Beckett later admitted she had been "a moron" for nominating Mr Corbyn. The lowering of the threshold is likely to make it easier for one of Mr Corbyn's preferred successors, such as Angela Rayner or Rebecca Long-Bailey, to stand for the leadership. Tom Watson.

Labour will face “huge challenges” to win the 2020 general election as changes to parliamentary boundaries and Britain's ageing population move against the party, the former foreign secretary Margaret Beckett has warned. In a sobering assessment, Beckett says Labour will need to gain an extra 94 MPs ...