After much thought and deliberation, I have today notified the Chairman of the Great Yarmouth Conservative Association that I will not be standing as a candidate at the next general election.
It is not a decision taken easily as it has been the greatest honour of my life to represent the people of Great Yarmouth in Parliament and to work with so many loyal and dedicated local campaigners. I owe them a monumental debt of gratitude for their support since I was first elected as an MP in 2010, and I am humbled to call many of them my friends.
I delivered my first campaign leaflet as a teenager and the Conservative Party has been hugely influential in my life ever since. I have held elected positions for 25 years - starting as a local councillor, then council leader, all the way through to Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor.
Having also served as Chairman of our great Party my enduring loyalty will remain to my Association and the Party as a whole - voluntary, professional and parliamentary.
In Great Yarmouth, we have secured new investment for our people and places to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds.. Particular highlights have included the rejuvenation of the town centre and a significant capital injection into our sea and flood defences. The recent opening of the vital third river crossing, The Herring Bridge, has also been the culmination of an outstanding team effort.
I am proud of the small part I have been able to play in public life across eight ministerial roles, five departments and four prime ministers. In all those Government roles, I am fortunate enough to have worked on some of the most complex, sensitive and demanding areas of policy as well as with many fantastic officials and colleagues. From the introduction of the Northern Ireland Legacy Bill, now Act, when I was Secretary of State to working with our world-leading security and intelligence services as Security Minister and signing the Proclamation of His Majesty The King when I was Lord Chancellor.
My previous ministerial portfolios have also covered large-scale delivery programmes, from building the housing our country so desperately needs to setting up and establishing the EU Settlement scheme, which ended up supporting around 6 million people post-Brexit.
I will continue to serve my constituents to the very best of my ability until Parliament is dissolved and want to take this opportunity to thank my dedicated team. They have shown unwavering commitment to helping me represent the best interests of the people of Great Yarmouth for the last 14 years.
I also remain steadfast in my support for the Conservative Party and will be out on the campaign trail, helping to deliver a great new Conservative MP for Great Yarmouth and contributing bold policy ideas to secure our country’s future.
A new chapter awaits but as this one closes, I want to thank my family for the unwavering support they have given me over the years. My successes and challenges have also been theirs, and I cannot thank them enough for being by my side through it all.
