Margaret Beckett Margaret Beckett Dame Margaret Mary Beckett (; born 15 January 1943) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Derby South since 1983. She was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party under John Smith from 1992 to 1994, and briefly served as Leader of the Labour Party after Smith died suddenly. She later served in the Cabinet under Prime Minister Tony Blair in a number of roles, becoming Britain's first female Foreign Secretary in 2006. Beckett was first elected to Parliament in 1974 for Lincoln and held junior positions in the governments
First Secretary of State a higher Cabinet rank than Chancellor Philip Hammond. The title is not always in use, so there have sometimes been extended gaps between successive holders of the title. It was unused the longest in the 25 years between 1970 and 1995. After Damian Green resigned over sexual harassment allegations on 20 December 2017, no Secretary of State was appointed to fill the post. The role has had varying responsibilities over time. The most recent responsibilities are: The post of Deputy Prime Minister had been created in 1942 for Clement Attlee, the leader of the Labour Party in Winston Churchill's wartime