WIRRAL West MP Margaret Greenwood has said she is “deeply grateful” in a letter to her voters as she steps down from Parliament.

Greenwood announced she would be standing down as MP at the next election last year.

Greenwood has been the Labour MP for Wirral West since 2015, when she defeated Tory cabinet minister Esther McVey by 417 votes. She held the seat in 2017 and 2019.

A former teacher, Greenwood served as Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under Jeremy Corbyn between 2018 and 2020.

In a letter addressed to her constituents yesterday (Wednesday, May 29), she thanked Wirral West residents, party members and trade unionists for their support during her time as a Member of Parliament.  

The letter read: “It has been an honour to serve as Member of Parliament for Wirral West since 2015 and I am deeply grateful for the trust placed in me by every single person who voted for me. I am grateful too for the support that I have received from Labour party members and trade unionists who worked so hard to get me elected. I thank you all.

“I would like to thank the thousands of people who have written to me over the years with issues for me to raise in Westminster. The dialogue between constituents and their elected representatives is immensely important to the functioning of our democracy. I have been able to take a very broad range of issues to parliament, including poverty and inequality, support for carers and vulnerable people, trade union and employment lay, animal welfare, environmental issues, the urgent need to tackle the effects of climate change and the need for peace in the Middle East.

“I was honoured to serve in the Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn for over two years and hold the government to account over their proposed mass migration of people to universal credit which threatened to impact to harshly on thousands of disabled and vulnerable people. I have worked tirelessly to oppose privatisation of the NHS and call for the funding that it so desperately needs, along with investment in all our other vital public services such as councils, the police, and social care.

“We have had some real victories in Wirral West over the past nine years when it has come to local campaigns. Perhaps most notably, we fought to save the Dee Esturary from underground Coal gasification, and we fought too to protect the precious green belt. It has been fantastic to campaign alongside so many dedicated local people, who I know will continue to campaign on these issues.

“It has been an absolute privilege to meet so many extraordinary people and organisations who work to improve the lives of others, including voluntary, faith and campaign groups.

“When I first came to parliament, I spoke of the strength of communities across Wirral West. My appreciation of that strength has only deepened since then and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to represent such a wonderful place.

“It has been an honour and a pleasure to serve you as your Member of Parliament.”

Wirral West, which includes Hoylake, West Kirby, Woodchurch and the north edge of Heswall, has been described as a bellwether seat since its establishment in 1983.

Former councillor and Wirral cabinet member, Matthew Patrick, will contest the seat for Labour this time around with Jenny Johnson running for the Conservatives. 

Gail Jenkinson will represent the Greens, Ken Ferguson contests for Reform UK and Peter Reisdorf runs for the Liberal Democrats.