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Alan Milburn to stand down as an MP

Jun 28 2009 Sunday Sun

FORMER Cabinet minister Alan Milburn has announced he will stand down as an MP at the next General Election.

Alan Milburn

The Darlington MP, who has been criticised for taking on five other jobs alongside his parliamentary work since quitting the Cabinet, revealed he had been considering the decision for “a long time”.

Mr Milburn announced his intentions to his constituency party yesterday, saying he wanted to pursue “other challenges”.

He had a majority of 10,404 over the Conservatives at the last election.

He said: “I left frontline ministerial politics, and have not wished to return, because I wanted to have a different way of life.

“I have never regretted doing so. Standing down as an MP will give me the chance to balance my work and my family life with the time to pursue challenges other than politics.

“I am very proud to have served as Darlington’s MP since 1992. That feels like a long time in modern politics. I decided to make this announcement now, before the summer, so that Darlington Labour Party has ample time to choose a new candidate for the next election.”

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