Robert Halfon: 'Being Harlow MP has been my greatest honour'

Robert Halfon was elected as MP for Harlow in 2010

Robert Halfon said being MP for Harlow had been "the greatest honour of my life".

The Conservative has resigned as an education minister and says he will not stand at the next general election.

Speaking to the BBC, he insisted his party's poor showing in the polls was not the reason for his decision.

A political opponent praised his "service" to the Essex town and fellow Tories said he would be a loss to the party.

Mr Halfon said he had done everything he could for his constituency. He said plans for a new hospital for Harlow were on track, but he appeared frustrated over the delays in moving the government's health laboratories.

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"Of course it would have been a difficult battle but I absolutely believe I could have won this seat again," he said.

"I have served for 14 years, I have fought six elections here and I have come to the conclusion that my time is coming to an end.

"I've done everything I've wanted to do for the people of Harlow but also, on the national scene, championing education skills and apprenticeships.

"I've wanted to be an MP since I was 10 years old. But I was bought up with a walking disability. I never imagined I would be elected for Parliament."

Mr Halfon first started campaigning to become Harlow's MP in 2001

He listed among his achievements the government funding he helped secure for the town and his long-running and successful campaign to keep down fuel duty.

The former skills minister said his greatest passion had been promoting apprenticeships among schools and employers.

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"It is the greatest tool for social justice, it helps everyone to climb the ladder of opportunity and ensures we meet the skills need of our country," he said.

"It can be life-changing."

Harlow has a population of about 93,000 people

Mr Halfon first started campaigning to become Harlow's MP in 2001. But despite losing the next two elections he stayed on and kept campaigning.

But he leaves behind unfinished business. Despite securing a promise from Boris Johnson of a new hospital for Harlow four years ago, a planning application is yet to be submitted.

And plans to move the government's health laboratories to Harlow - first announced back in 2014 - have still not happened.

The former GSK laboratories in Harlow were going to be the new home of Public Health England's laboratories

On the hospital, Mr Halfon blamed Covid and the war in Ukraine for pushing up building costs but he said he recently received a letter from the chancellor promising the hospital would be open by 2030.

On the laboratories, he seemed frustrated by the delays but said he was confident there would be some sort of health facility in the town.

His Labour opponent Christopher Vince said: "Whatever our political differences, I recognise Mr Halfon has been a dedicated servant of Harlow since 2010 and I thank him for that service."

'Harlow changed him'

In Conservative circles, his decision to stand down was seen as a blow to the party.

When elected in 2010, he was seen as an example of how much the party had changed.

He used the phrase "white van man and woman", spoke about "blue collar Conservatism" and, when he spoke about high fuel prices, the profits of the utility companies and the need to invest in left-behind areas, ministers would listen.

Harlow was designated as a New Town in 1947 to cope with London's rapidly growing population post World War Two

"He changed Harlow but Harlow changed him. He would listen to people and understand what they really wanted from government," said his friend and Conservative commentator Tim Montgomerie.

"He was a model of what we should have done and been saying in the red wall seats."

Mr Halfon leaves behind a majority of 14,000 making the bellwether seat vulnerable to a Labour take over.

But he pointed to to the 2015 election when many expected him to lose.

"It is still all to play for," he said. "I would say to any political party that is already measuring the curtains that it's never over until it's over."