A FORMER Warrington councillor who is an MP in Wigan is standing down at the General Election on July 4, she has announced.

Yvonne Fovargue, 67, has represented Makerfield since 2010 when she was elected with a majority of 12,490. At the last election in 2019 she had a majority of 4,740.

Her constituency, which covers Ince and part of Leigh, is widely regarded as one of the safest Labour seats in the country.

Before being elected as an MP she was a Labour councillor in Fairfield and Howley in Warrington.

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She was appointed as an Opposition Whip in 2011 and served as shadow transport minister and shadow defence minister.

Ms Fovargue was appointed as a shadow education minister with responsibility for further education and skills in October 2014 following the resignation of Rushanara Ali. She resigned from this role in March 2019 rebelling against the Labour leadership by voting against a second Brexit referendum.

She supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour leadership election. She is a member of the Unite trade union. In 2020, Ms Fovargue supporters Wigan MP Lisa Nandy in the leadership election, won by Sir Kier Starmer.

She was awarded a CBE in the 2024 New Year Honours.

Ms Fovargue said: “It has been a privilege to serve as Makerfield MP since 2010, but now is the right time for me to step down.

“I would like to thank the people of the Makerfield constituency for putting their trust and confidence in me and I have sought to represent them to the best of my ability.

“To my local constituency party, I thank you for your support and encouragement at all times.

“And to my staff in the constituency and Westminster office, I thank you for your hard work and dedication.

“Wigan is my home and I will continue to take an active interest in the life of the borough.”

Ms Fovargue is married to Wigan councillor Paul Kenny, also a former Warrington councillor, and has a daughter.