Editing Kate Hoey (section)

===Member of the Labour Party===
As a member of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], she unsuccessfully contested [[Dulwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Dulwich]] at the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]] and [[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987 general elections]], being defeated by the Conservative [[Gerald Bowden]], on the second occasion by only 180 votes. In 1989, she was elected at the [[1989 Vauxhall by-election|Vauxhall by-election]] precipitated by the resignation of [[Stuart Holland]]. Vauxhall Constituency Labour Party had wanted [[Martha Osamor]], vice-chair of the Labour Party Black Sections, as the Party's candidate. Osamor did secure the most nominations, eighty in total, with Hoey only having one.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irr.org.uk/news/martha-osamor-unsung-hero-of-britains-black-struggle/ |title=Martha Osamor: unsung hero of Britain's black struggle – Institute of Race Relations |website=www.irr.org.uk}}</ref> However, the [[National Executive Committee (Labour Party)|National Executive Committee]] declined to shortlist Osamor and imposed a shortlist on the constituency party. When the local party refused to choose from the shortlist, Hoey was imposed by the NEC as the Labour candidate.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rye |first=Danny |title=Political Parties and the Concept of Power: A Theoretical Framework |location=Basingstoke, Hampshire |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2014 |page=92}}</ref>

Interviewed by a Belfast-based newspaper in 1989, Hoey claimed that she "yearned" for Irish unity, adding "I believe that there should be a united Ireland by consent and I think that there are a lot of people in Ireland who want this." Hoey also said she wanted to see an [[Proposed all-Ireland football team|all-Ireland soccer team]]: "I believe that football supporters on both sides of the border would like to see this happen but it is football officials who are preventing it from coming about."<ref>Interview, Kate Hoey, ''Sunday News'' 18 June 1989.</ref> 

Hoey was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the [[Home Office]] from 1998 to 1999, and [[Minister for Sport and Civil Society|Minister for Sport]] in the [[Department of Culture, Media and Sport]] from 1999 to 2001.

As the chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on [[Zimbabwe]], Hoey was a vocal critic of the government of [[Robert Mugabe]]. In 2005, she called on [[Tony Blair]] to put diplomatic pressure on South Africa to condemn Zimbabwean government demolitions of townships, after an unsanctioned visit to the country.<ref>{{cite news|title=Blair pressed on Zimbabwe stance|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4101424.stm|access-date=27 March 2015|publisher=BBC|date=16 June 2005}}</ref> The Zimbabwean government threatened to jail her if she repeated her "sneak" visit.<ref>{{cite news|title=Zimbabwe threatens to jail Hoey for 'sneak' trip|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1530850/Zimbabwe-threatens-to-jail-Hoey-for-sneak-trip.html|access-date=27 March 2015|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=7 October 2006}}</ref>

On 29 April 2008, it was announced that Hoey would form part of the team of Conservative [[Boris Johnson]], should he become Mayor, as an unpaid non-executive director advising on sport and the [[2012 Olympics]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7372823.stm "Labour Hoey would help Tory mayor"], BBC News, 29 April 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2008.</ref> The announcement was controversial both because Hoey had once said of London's Olympic bid "we don't deserve it and Paris does"<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hart|first1=Simon|title=Fury over role for Kate Hoey|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/2299268/Fury-over-role-for-Kate-Hoey.html|access-date=27 March 2015|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=4 May 2008}}</ref> and because it could have been perceived as endorsing an election candidate from a rival party.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jones|first1=Sam|title=Labour MP denies defection in mayoral campaign|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/apr/30/london08.boris|access-date=27 March 2015|work=The Guardian|date=30 April 2008}}</ref>

Hoey nominated [[John McDonnell]] for the [[2010 Labour Party leadership election (UK)|Labour leadership election of 2010]] but, on his withdrawal, she switched her nomination to [[Diane Abbott]]. However, she voted for [[Andy Burnham]], giving [[Ed Miliband]] her second preference. In the [[2015 Labour Party leadership election (UK)|2015 Labour election]], Hoey supported [[Andy Burnham]] and [[Caroline Flint]] for the leadership and deputy leadership, saying that she could not see [[Liz Kendall]] as a Prime Minister.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}} 

In 2016, Hoey was one of few Labour MPs who voted to have confidence in [[Jeremy Corbyn]]'s leadership of the party. She supported him during the leadership contest. 

On 8 July 2019, Hoey announced that she would retire from the House of Commons, and would not seek re-election as a Labour candidate at [[2019 United Kingdom general election|the next general election]].<ref>{{Cite tweet |user=KateHoeyMP |number=1148198081143476225 |date = 8 July 2019 |title=Whoever is fortunate enough to be the next MP for Vauxhall I wish them well. }}</ref> The constituency Labour Party had voted to censure her and passed a vote of no confidence after she was one of 4 Labour MPs who had supported the government.