She was a member of the Bundestag representing Saxony from 2005 to 2021, a federal co-leader of The Left from 2012 to 2021 alongside Bernd Riexinger, and the Senator for Integration, Labour and Social Affairs in the Berlin state government from December 2021 to April 2023.

[1] At the start of her studies at the Dresden University of Technology, Kipping was heavily involved with the so-called Protestbüro (bureau of protest).

[1][4][5] She was a principal proponent of a united left party, comprising the east-oriented PDS and the west-oriented Labour and Social Justice (WASG).

[4] In January 2012, Der Spiegel reported that Kipping was one of 27 members of The Left's parliamentary group who were under surveillance by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz).

[10] In her book New Left Majorities: An Invitation, Kipping calls for an economic realignment towards what she terms the "economy of commons", which would prioritise the interests of the citizens over profits.

Kipping has repeatedly spoken in favour of The Left's involvement in government with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and The Greens.

In a March 2019 article published in Die Welt, she called for the centre-left parties to join The Left in a coalition committed to socio-economic reform away from what she described as a neoliberal consensus exemplified by the Agenda 2010.

She pointed to the Berlin government's attitude toward the city's housing crisis as an example to follow, and praised the initiative for a referendum to expropriate large real estate companies.

Noting the popularity of right-wing protest parties alongside broad support for progressive social and ecological policies, Kipping suggested that voters are dissatisfied with an insufficiently ambitious left.

The close result also made the seat a potential target for The Left in future elections given their narrow margin of entry into the Bundestag.

[16] In August 2020, Kipping and Riexinger announced they would step down as co-chairs in accordance with party regulations stating that no position should be held by the same person for more than eight years.

[19] She was sworn in on 21 December 2021[20] and served until the Giffey senate left office on 27 April 2023 after the 2023 Berlin repeat state election.