The Labor MP, who has represented West Lancashire since 2005, said the announcement “will come as a surprise to a lot of people” as she had recently secured re-election to be in the seat at the next election. Mrs Cooper, 72, said she was stepping down as she accepted a new role as chairman of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust. She retained her seat in 2019 with more than 52% of the vote and a majority of 8,336. Labor has confirmed to Sky News that a by-election will be held “this autumn”. Mrs Cooper said: “It has been an incredible honor and privilege to serve the people of West Lancashire for the past 17 years. I have loved every minute, even in the hardest times. “I appreciate that this will come as a surprise to many people, having recently secured re-election to stand as West Lancashire Labor candidate at the next general election. This was before the recruitment process for the Mersey Care post.” He said he had gone through a “significant period of soul-searching and reflection” before applying for the role, adding: “The events I have faced over the last few years are well documented and have undoubtedly taken their toll.” Neo-Nazi Plan to Kill for ‘White Jihad’ The MP was the victim of a murder plot by an alleged member of banned neo-Nazi group National Action – the same group as the man who killed Labor MP Jo Cox was a member. In 2018, Jack Renshaw, then 23, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, admitted planning to kill Ms Cooper for “white jihad” and making threats to kill police officer Victoria Henderson. On the first day of his trial at the Old Bailey, he admitted planning to kill Ms Cooper with a replica Roman Gladius sword in the summer of 2017. He bragged to other members that he had already bought a knife marketed as offering “19 inches of unprecedented piercing and cutting power at a bargain price.” Renshaw planned to carry out a “politically and racially motivated murder” in support of National Action, the court heard. He denied being a member of the group. After killing Ms. Cooper, Renshaw told the group that he would take people hostage and then demand that P.K. Henderson to come on the scene before he kills her. Image: National Action was banned in 2016 after celebrating the murder of Jo Cox Ms Cooper, originally a Liberal Democrat, was previously chairman of Liverpool Women’s Hospital and a trustee of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. He said returning to the NHS “felt like the right opportunity at the right time” but meant he could not continue “with my other passion of representing the people of West Lancashire as their MP”. She thanked her constituents and said she was sorry to leave.
