Margaret McDonagh, Baroness McDonagh of Mitcham and Morden, died this week, far too young at 61, from a ferocious brain tumour. You may not be familiar with this Labour grande dame, despite the many obituaries published about her. But if you delighted in Tony Blair winning the election in 1997 and then again four years later, you have a lot to thank this formidable woman for because she was Blair’s right hand; a truly remarkable political organiser who applied ferocious discipline to the Labour Party, adding her political acumen to Blair’s, turning Labour into the election-winning force it became.
Blair remained a close friend to Margaret, visiting her in hospital and when she returned home to Colliers Wood for the final days to be with her beloved older sister Siobhan, also a Labour MP. Margaret was the youngest and first female general secretary of the Labour Party and supported Labour to the end.
