Labour’s Cunningham to bow out
Labour MP and former Cabinet minister Jack Cunningham is to stand down at the next election.
Mr Cunningham, MP for the renamed constituency of Copeland since 1970, served under Jim Callaghan and was handed the agriculture brief when Labour won power in 1997.
At the Department of Agriculture, he caused a political storm by banning the sale of beef on the bone due to the BSE threat.
He later became Tony Blair’s “Cabinet enforcer”.
In opposition, Mr Cunningham held briefs on the environment and trade as well as serving as a foreign affairs spokesman under John Smith.
The 65-year old also chaired the All-Party Committee on Lords Reform.
Mr Cunningham said yesterday: “It has been a great privilege to have served Copeland in the House of Commons for 35 years and to have won nine consecutive general elections.
“I have been very fortunate to have had such enduring support from the electors of Copeland and the party.
“That commitment enabled me to serve as a minister in two Labour governments.
“I am indebted to many people for their dedicated support, advice and friendship over many years.”
The Prime Minister said Mr Cunningham was one of the “leading” politicians of his generation and was held in the “highest” regard by the whole of the Labour Party.
Mr Cunningham’s majority was 4,964 at the last election.
