PARLIAMENT is set lose to a double Oscar winner from its ranks when it is dissolved later this month ahead of the general election.
Wirral-born MP Glenda Jackson, who won best actress Academy Awards for performances in 'Women in Love' and 'A Touch of Class', has declared she is standing down at May's poll.
Having entered Parliament in 1992 for Hampstead and Kilburn, she stands down leaving behind one of the Commons' most narrow majorities having hung on in 2010 by just 42 votes.
The 78-year-old exchanged a dazzling career on stage and screen for one of politics, becoming a prominent critic of Tony Blair.
In 2013, she gave a scathing speech criticising Margaret Thatcher during a Commons debate called to pay tribute to the late premier.
Also among the 87 MPs who have declared they are standing down are Ellesmere Port and Nestion MP Andrew Miller, Gordon Brown, Jack Straw and Alistair Darling.
The Conservative benches will lose William Hague, the former foreign secretary retiring after a near-four decade career which began with his famous speech to the Tory conference as a schoolboy of 16.
Some are resigning with a less glossy record - former Labour MP Eric Joyce, now an Independent, has had a series of police run-ins following brawls in the bars of Parliament.
And Tory backbenchers Aidan Burley and Brooks Newmark both found themselves on the receiving end of tabloid stings, prompting the decision to stand aside.
BIGGEST NAMES
DAVID BLUNKETT - The Labour MP for Sheffield Brightside broke boundaries as Britain's first blind Cabinet member, serving under Tony Blair as education secretary, home secretary and work and pensions secretary.
First elected to Parliament at the 1987 election, Mr Blunkett's guide dogs have been a regular feature around the Commons chamber.
Mr Blunkett resigned twice from the Cabinet, first over matters in his private life in 2004 and again in 2005 after he was reinstated to the Cabinet, this time over external business interests while he was on the back benches.
GORDON BROWN - The Labour MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath will leave Parliament after a career stretching back to 1983 in which he held the very highest offices in the land.
But the former prime minister may be best recalled for his decade-long feud with Tony Blair as he battled to move from Number 11 Downing Street to the flat just next door.
Mr Brown's troubled three-year premiership was dominated by the financial crisis but his efforts to bail out the banks and convene international conferences to deal with the credit crunch were not enough to persuade the electorate to hand him a Commons mandate in his own right.
JEREMY BROWNE - The Liberal Democrat MP for Taunton Deane leaves Parliament after a 10-year career marked by three as a minister in the coalition government, serving in the Home Office and Foreign Office.
Strongly associated with the Orange Book wing of the Lib Dems, Mr Browne faced claims he was in the wrong party after in 2014 publishing a book promoting lower taxes, allowing free schools to run at a profit and a new hub airport in the South East, paired with a culturally and socially liberal outlook.
SIR MENZIES CAMPBELL - A short - and ultimately doomed - spell as leader of the Liberal Democrats has cast little shadow over the career of the MP for North East Fife.
The 73-year-old leaves Parliament a widely respected foreign policy expert. He was a prominent figure in the Commons opposition to the Iraq War in 2003.
Before entering politics he was a successful athlete, holding the British 100 metres record from 1967 to 1974 with a time of 10.2 seconds.
ALISTAIR DARLING - The Edinburgh South West MP leaves Parliament with a resume featuring a successful defence of the Union as chairman of the Better Together referendum campaign and chancellor of the exchequer during the financial crisis.
Alongside Gordon Brown, Mr Darling took unprecedented steps to bail out and partially nationalise RBS and Lloyds. He served in the Cabinet for 13 years, first as chief secretary, before later spells as work and pensions secretary, transport secretary, Scotland secretary and trade and industry secretary.
WILLIAM HAGUE - The former foreign secretary resurrected his Parliamentary career for an improbable second act after a devastating defeat as Conservative leader at the 2001 general election.
Beaten by a second Tony Blair landslide after a campaign dominated by awkward photo-ops, Mr Hague reinvented himself as a distinguished biographer for a time.
The Richmond MP returned to the front line as shadow foreign secretary under David Cameron, taking on one of the great offices of state and becoming effective deputy to the Tory prime minister after the 2010 election.
PETER HAIN - After growing up in South Africa, Mr Hain rose to prominence as an anti-apartheid campaigner in the 1970s.
He entered Parliament as MP for Neath in a 1991 by-election, joining Tony Blair's Cabinet as Commons leader in 2003.
He later resigned as Northern Ireland secretary after allegations over donations to his campaign for deputy leader of the Labour Party were referred to the police.
DAME TESSA JOWELL - A key role in first securing and then planning the 2012 London Olympics looks certain to give way to a run for London mayor for Dame Tessa.
The Dulwich and West Norwood MP was first elected in 1992 and served in government under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
She faced controversy in 2006 when her now ex-husband, David Mills, was investigated for money laundering and alleged tax fraud.
Dame Tessa was cleared of wrongdoing by Mr Blair after an investigation into possible conflicts of interest by then Cabinet secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell.
SIR MALCOLM RIFKIND - An illustrious career featuring a long run in the Cabinet under both Margaret Thatcher and John Major has ended under a cloud following a sting by Channel 4 and The Daily Telegraph.
Sir Malcolm is under investigation for possible conflicts of interest after boasting he could, as a former foreign secretary, gain access to ambassadors as a consultant to a fake Chinese firm.
Sir Malcolm announced he would stand down from the safe Conservative seat of Kensington five years earlier than he had planned, also quitting the chairmanship of the Intelligence and Security Committee over the allegations.
JACK STRAW - The Blackburn MP will be remembered as a key lieutenant of Tony Blair and the foreign secretary who helped make the case for the 2003 Iraq War.
Mr Straw has been an MP since the 1979 general election, taking over the constituency from Barbara Castle for whom he worked as a political adviser.
Mr Straw leaves under the same investigation as Sir Malcolm Rifkind after referring himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards over allegations of conflicts of interest following a Channel 4 and Daily Telegraph sting.
SIR PETER TAPSELL - The Father of the House has served continuously in the Commons since 1966 and first entered Parliament as MP for Nottingham West in 1959.
The Conservative MP has seen prime ministers come and go and is one of few MPs to have ever served more than 50 years - ensuring he is one of a handful of politicians able to silence the House by rising to his feet.
Here is the full list of MPs who have announced they are standing down at the election. Further names may be added when the deadline for nominations passes on April 9.
Bob Ainsworth - Coventry North East - Labour
James Arbuthnot - North East Hampshire - Conservative
Sir Tony Baldry - Banbury - Conservative
Greg Barker - Bexhill and Battle - Conservative
Sir Hugh Bayley - York Central - Labour
Sir Alan Beith - Berwick upon Tweed - Liberal Democrat
Joe Benton - Bootle - Labour
Brian Binley - Northampton South - Conservative
Hazel Blears - Salford and Eccles - Labour
David Blunkett - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough - Labour
Annette Brooke - Mid Dorset and North Poole - Liberal Democrat
Gordon Brown - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath - Labour
Jeremy Browne - Taunton Deane - Liberal Democrat
Sir Malcolm Bruce - Gordon - Liberal Democrat
Aidan Burley - Cannock Chase - Conservative
Dan Byles - North Warwickshire - Conservative
Sir Menzies Campbell - North East Fife - Liberal Democrat
Martin Caton - Gower - Labour
James Clappison - Hertsmere - Conservative
Tony Cunningham - Workington - Labour
Alistair Darling - Edinburgh South West - Labour
John Denham - Southampton, Itchen - Labour
Frank Dobson - Holborn and St Pancras - Labour
Frank Doran - Aberdeen North - Labour
Stephen Dorrell - Charnwood - Conservative
Jonathan Evans - Cardiff North - Conservative
Don Foster - Bath - Liberal Democrat
Hywel Francis - Aberavon - Labour
Lorraine Fullbrook - South Ribble - Conservative
William Hague - Richmond - Conservative
Peter Hain - Neath - Labour
David Hamilton - Midlothian - Labour
Dai Havard - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney - Labour
David Heath - Somerton and Frome - Liberal Democrat
Charles Hendry - Wealden - Conservative
David Heyes - Ashton-under-Lyne - Labour
Mark Hoban - Fareham - Conservative
Glenda Jackson - Hampstead and Kilburn - Labour
Sian James - Swansea East - Labour
Dame Tessa Jowell - Dulwich and West Norwood - Labour
Eric Joyce - Falkirk - Independent (Labour in 2010)
Chris Kelly - Dudley South - Conservative
Andrew Lansley - South Cambridgeshire - Conservative
Jessica Lee - Erewash - Conservative
Elfyn Llwyd Dwyfor Meirionnydd - Plaid Cymru
Andy Love - Edmonton - Labour
Peter Luff - Mid Worcestershire - Conservative
Dame Anne McGuire - Stirling - Labour
Anne McIntosh - Thirsk and Malton - Conservative
Francis Maude - Horsham - Conservative
Andrew Miller - Ellesmere Port and Neston - Labour
Austin Mitchell - Great Grimsby - Labour
George Mudie - Leeds East - Labour
Meg Munn - Sheffield Heeley - Labour
Paul Murphy - Torfaen - Labour
Brooks Newmark - Braintree - Conservative
Sir Richard Ottaway - Croydon South - Conservative
Stephen O'Brien - Eddisbury - Conservative
Jim Paice - South East Cambridgeshire - Conservative
Dawn Primarolo - Bristol South - Labour
Sir John Randall - Uxbridge and South Ruislip - Conservative
Nick Raynsford - Greenwich - Labour
Sir Malcolm Rifkind - Kensington - Conservative
Linda Riordan - Halifax - Labour
Andrew Robathan - South Leicestershire - Conservative
Sir Hugh Robertson - Faversham and Mid Kent - Conservative
Lindsay Roy - Glenrothes and Central Fife - Labour
Dame Joan Ruddock - Lewisham Deptford - Labour
David Ruffley - Bury St Edmunds - Conservative
Laura Sandys - South Thanet - Conservative
Sir Richard Shepherd - Aldridge-Brownhills - Conservative
Mark Simmonds - Boston and Skegness - Conservative
Sir John Stanley - Tonbridge and Malling - Conservative
Jack Straw - Blackburn - Labour
Andrew Stunnell - Hazel Grove - Liberal Democrat
Ian Swales - Redcar - Liberal Democrat
Gerry Sutcliffe - Bradford South - Labour
Sir Peter Tapsell - Louth and Horncastle - Conservative
Sarah Teather - Brent Central - Liberal Democrat
Joan Walley - Stoke-on-Trent - North Labour
Robert Walter - North Dorset - Conservative
Dave Watts - St Helens North - Labour
Mike Weatherley - Hove and Portslade - Conservative
David Willetts - Havant - Conservative
Mike Wood - Batley and Spen - Labour
Shaun Woodward - St Helen's South and Whiston - Labour
Sir George Young - North West Hampshire - Conservative
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