[2] In 1951 she was elected to Hornsey Borough Council and became Mikardo's full-time secretary and working partner in his business, which involved trade with eastern Europe.

[2] After unsuccessful campaigns as the Labour candidate in Monmouth in 1951 and 1955, Hornchurch in 1959, and Harrow East in 1964, Richardson was elected Member of Parliament for Barking in February 1974.

She was a member of the Socialist Campaign Group, but resigned in 1988 in protest at Tony Benn's decision to challenge Neil Kinnock for the leadership.

[2] Richardson also served as an executive member of the National Council for Civil Liberties during a time in which the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE), a pro-paedophile activist group, was affiliated with it.

[6] Amid complications of rheumatoid arthritis, Richardson's health declined precipitously in her last year of life, and she underwent spinal surgery.