Margaret Beckett

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Margaret Mary Beckett, Baroness Beckett, (born 15 January 1943) is a British Labour politician and life peer. She served as Member of Parliament for Lincoln (1974–1979) and later for Derby South (1983–2024), making her one of the longest-serving MPs in Labour’s history.

Beckett was the United Kingdom’s first female Foreign Secretary, holding the post from 2006 to 2007 under Prime Minister Tony Blair. Before that, she was Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2001–2006), Leader of the House of Commons (1998–2001), and President of the Board of Trade (1997–1998). She also served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1992 to 1994 and was acting Leader of the Labour Party in 1994 after John Smith’s death, briefly guiding the party before Tony Blair won the leadership election.

Her early political career saw her in junior government roles under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. After losing her Lincoln seat in 1979, she returned to Parliament in 1983 as the MP for Derby South. In opposition, she held several shadow cabinet roles and became the party’s Deputy Leader, a position she later described in interviews as challenging.

When Labour returned to power in 1997, Beckett rose to high office and helped shape reforms in Parliament, including the introduction of Westminster Hall debates. As Environment Secretary, she led the government’s climate and environmental agenda and dealt with issues like energy policy during the early 2000s. As Foreign Secretary, she faced criticisms at times over foreign policy decisions and events, and in 2007 she was replaced by David Miliband.

After leaving the Foreign Office, Beckett served briefly as Minister of State for Housing and Planning in 2008–2009. She remained a prominent voice in Labour politics and, following Labour’s defeat in 2010, sat on the opposition benches until stepping down from Parliament in 2024. She was soon named a life peer, becoming Baroness Beckett, of Old Normanton in the City of Derby.

Beckett was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, into a family with a working background. She studied metallurgy at what was then the Manchester College of Science and Technology (now part of UMIST). She married Lionel Beckett in 1979, who later worked as her office manager; he died in 2021. Beckett has received several honors, including being made a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in 2024.