Labour’s first female general secretary Margaret McDonagh has died at the age of 61, the party confirmed this morning.
Baroness McDonagh was described by Sir Keir Starmer as an ‘absolutely essential part of the 1997 Labour landslide’ and a ‘tireless champion for women’.
Having served as deputy general secretary in 1997, she held the position of Labour’s general secretary from 1998 to 2001. She later went on to work as a management consultant and co-president of the Labour Party Irish Society. She was made a life peer in 2004 and sat on the Labour benches in the House of Lords.
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Peter Mandelson, who was Labour’s campaign director in the 1997 general election, said: “Margaret was a tour de force. She ran Millbank in 1997 with a rod of iron. Everyone was terrified including me.
“I have never met anyone so resolute, so uncompromisingly honest and so direct. She almost never made it to the high command in the early 1990s, but once she arrived there was no going back. She was formidable.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was ‘devastating news’ to hear of Margaret’s passing. He said in a statement: “Margaret McDonagh gave her life to the Labour Party. Margaret may not have been as famous as some of the politicians she worked with but they wouldn’t have got into power without her.
“As general election co-ordinator, Margaret was an absolutely essential part of the 1997 Labour landslide, and as the first female general secretary led the organisation through a historic re-election campaign in 2001.
“Both inside and outside of the Labour Party, Margaret was a tireless champion for women, mentoring a whole generation of political and business leaders. To the very end Margaret was campaigning for better healthcare for those with brain tumours.
“Margaret was absolute proof that one person can make a difference in the world. The difference with Margaret is that she also built an army of change-makers along the way who will proudly carry on that fight in her name.
“You can’t think about Margaret without her sister Siobhain (the Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden), campaigners together not just in Mitcham and Morden, but across the world.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Siobhain, and all Margaret’s family and friends at this tragic time. I know I speak for many when I say I will miss her friendship and wise counsel in the years ahead.”
