Another Tory MP to stand down at next election as Sunak faces resignation and by-election double crisis
23 June 2023, 16:05
Senior Tory MP Steve Brine will stand down at the next general election - adding his name to a long list of party figures leaving Parliament.
The senior MP, who has represented Winchester since 2010 and is the chairman of the Commons health and social care committee, confirmed his departure in a letter to his local Conservative association.
"When I first entered Parliament I had in my mind to serve for 20 years, or four general elections, whichever came first," he said.
"This wasn't a hard-and-fast rule, and I don't think anyone could have predicted the events of the past 13 years, but it feels like the right time now, for both myself and the family.
"Going forward, I feel I can pursue some of the issues I care about, in health and perhaps elsewhere, outside Parliament as well as within."
Mr Brine joins the ranks of Conservative MPs who have decided to stand down at the next general election, which Labour is currently tipped to win after months of strong polling.
Other high-profile names who have already confirmed their departure include former justice secretary Dominic Raab and former health secretary Sajid Javid.
Mr Brine won his Winchester seat by around 1,000 votes at the last general election in 2019, just seeing off a Liberal Democrat challenger.
"During my time as our MP, Susie and I have had two wonderful children and I've put my heart and soul into doing the job," he said in the letter.
"My team and I have done tens of thousands of pieces of casework to date and that quietly remains the bedrock of my work for the people I represent. But that has all come at a price; being away several nights every week, working at pace across this vast constituency when I am home plus every weekend, and just the sheer intensity of this role in the modern age."
