Labour’s first female general secretary Margaret McDonagh has died at the age of 61, the party confirmed this morning.
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.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.
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.
“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.