Red-eyed Penny Mordaunt chokes back tears as Leader of the Commons pays tribute to ‘force of nature’ Karen Lumley after death of former Tory MP
- Karen Lumley, a married mother-of-two, was MP for Redditch from 2010 to 2017
Penny Mordaunt choked back tears today as she paid tribute to Karen Lumley as a ‘force of nature’ following the death of the former Tory MP.
The Leader of the House of Commons told MPs the 59-year-old had been a ‘larger-than-life character’ and remembered her ‘amazing hairdos’.
Lumley, a married mother-of-two, was MP for Redditch from 2010 to 2017 and served on a number of Commons committees.
She also had a spell as a parliamentary aide to ministers in the Department of Health during her seven years in the Commons.
The former councillor won her Redditch seat off Jacqui Smith, the former Labour home secretary, at the 2010 general election.
She chose not to defend her Worcestershire constituency at the 2017 election due to ill health.
Penny Mordaunt choked back tears as she paid tribute to Karen Lumley as a ‘force of nature’ following the death of the former Tory MP
Lumley, a married mother-of-two, was MP for Redditch from 2010 to 2017 and served on a number of Commons committees
Ms Mordaunt remembered Lumley’s ‘amazing hairdos’ – the former MP often sported brightly-coloured styles in the Commons
Announcing Lumley’s death to the Commons this morning, Ms Mordaunt said: ‘Yesterday we had the sad news that the world has lost an icon in Tina Turner.
‘But in the early hours of this morning we in this place also lost our own larger-than-life character – our former colleague, Karen Lumley, member for Redditch from 2010 to 2017.
‘As well as the work she did for her constituents and in the service of Parliament on the Welsh, Finance and Transport select committees – and in government as a PPS in Health – she was a force of nature, and a force for good.
‘We will miss her, her amazing hairdos, and the joy she brought us all, and we will cherish the memories we have of her.’
Ms Mordaunt, whose eyes appeared reddened, said the House would want to send their love to Lumley’s family, including her husband Richard and children Lizzie and Chris.
She paid tribute to Lumley at the start of her business statement to MPs and appeared to temporarily forget she had yet to set out the timetable of upcoming debates.
After momentarily sitting down, Ms Mordaunt said: ‘Forgive me, she meant a lot to all of us.’
She then detailed the upcoming Commons business for when MPs return from their Whitsun recess on 5 June.
Source: Read Full Article