'Brilliant working-class campaigner': Tributes paid to former Labour MP Alice Mahon, dead at 85
30 December 2022, 17:26
Tributes have been paid to former Labour MP Alice Mahon who has died aged 85.
Ms Mahon represented Halifax in West Yorkshire for 18 years between 1987 to 2005.
In a statement to the Halifax Courier, the constituency's current MP Holly Lynch said: “Alice Mahon always had a track record of fighting tirelessly for Halifax, and was much loved for it.
“She was a proud trade unionist and achieved a great deal both inside and outside of Parliament.
“My thoughts are very much with her family as I know she will be dearly missed as a mother and grandmother.”
The Bradford-born parliamentarian was a fierce critic of her party's then leader and Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair during her time in Westminster, and staunchly opposed the Iraq war.
The left-wing politician stood down at the 2005 general election, before quitting the party in 2009, accusing it of betraying the principles and values that inspired her to join.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted: “An utterly brilliant working-class campaigner, Alice was one of one of my best comrades in Parliament. I will miss her terribly.”
The party's current leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “Alice Mahon was a tireless champion for the people of Halifax.
"My thoughts are with her friends and family.”
