The Rt. Hon Margaret Hodge MBE was elected Member of Parliament for Barking in 1994. She is also the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee.

She carried out the following roles in the Labour Government between 1998 and 2010: She was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Employment and Equal Opportunities, Department for Education and Employment (1998 - 2001); Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education, Department for Education and Skills (2001 - 2003); Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families, Department for Education and Skills (2003 - 2005); Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform in the Department for Work and Pensions (2005 - 2006); Minister of State for Industry and the Regions in the Department for Trade and Industry (2006 – 2007); and Minister for Culture, the Creative industries and Tourism in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (2007 – 2010).

In the 2010 General Election Margaret fought off the challenge from Nick Griffin and the British National Party in her constituency, doubling her majority to 16,555. Also in 2010 Margaret Hodge became the first ever female Chair of the Public Accounts Committee. She was elected by fellow MPs in the first elections to be held for select committee Chairs.

Margaret Hodge entered politics in 1973 as a councillor for the London Borough of Islington where she was Chair of the Housing Committee from 1975 to 1979 and Deputy Leader from 1981 to 1982, before becoming Leader from 1982 to 1992. She spent two years as a consultant for Price Waterhouse from 1992 to 1994.

Prior to her appointment to the DfEE she was Joint Chairman of the House of Commons Education and Employment Select Committee.
Margaret was educated at Bromley High School and Oxford High School before obtaining a BSc at the London School of Economics.