Stevenage MP will not stand at next election

Official portrait of Stephen McPartland MPImage source, UK Parliament
Image caption,

Stephen McPartland described his time as an MP as "the biggest honour" of his life

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Conservative MP Stephen McPartland has announced he will not run again at the next election.

The 46-year-old, who has held the Stevenage constituency in Hertfordshire since 2010, said he wanted to take up opportunities outside of politics.

Sharing his letter to Rishi Sunak in a Twitter post, external, he said he had taken the decision "after much soul-searching".

Mr McPartland was elected with a majority of 8,562 (18%) at the 2019 election and described his time as an MP as "the biggest honour of my life".

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He was made minister of state for security by Boris Johnson in July 2022 but was not reappointed by new prime minister Liz Truss.

Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries announced last week that she would not be running for re-election in the nearby Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

The Conservative Party had asked all of its MPs to say by 5 December if they were planning to stand again.

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