Tributes paid to Glenda Jackson as ‘formidable’ ex-Labour MP dies aged 87

Tributes have been paid to the former Labour MP and double Oscar-winning actor Glenda Jackson, who has died at the age of 87.

The former MP for Hampstead and Highgate, and then Hampstead and Kilburn, had suffered a “brief illness” and passed away at her home in Blackheath, south-east London, according to her agent.

Tulip Siddiq, her successor in the London constituency, pictured above, said: “Devastated to hear that my predecessor Glenda Jackson has died. A formidable politician, an amazing actress and a very supportive mentor to me. Hampstead and Kilburn will miss you Glenda.”

Labour’s shadow environment minister Alex Sobel called it a “devastating loss”, with Jackson “one of parliament’s most vital and effective speakers”.

Jackson entered parliament in 1992 and served as a junior minister under former Prime Minister Tony Blair between 1997 and 1999. She ran for mayor of London in 2000 and remained in parliament until 2015.

RIP Glenda Jackson

Here she spoke about the impact of Thatcherism in the 1980spic.twitter.com/kK1L8UswRG

— Tides of History (@labour_history) June 15, 2023

She became a prominent backbench critic of Blair over Iraq, calling for him to quit and even considering running against him to trigger a leadership contest.

The daughter of a bricklayer, Jackson was born in Birkenhead on Merseyside in north-west England in 1936 and secured a scholarship to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art aged 16, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica.

She became well-known after roles in films including Women in Love, The Music Lovers, Sunday Bloody Sunday, A Touch of Class and Mary, Queen of Scots.

RIP Glenda Jackson. Among the greatest of British actresses, before becoming the long-serving Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate, 1992-2015. Pictured here as Elizabeth I (1971) and King Lear (2019). Condolences and best wishes to her family and friends. pic.twitter.com/IwCOqR2Pxv

— Sunder Katwala (@sundersays) June 15, 2023