Conservative MPs Dehenna Davison and Gary Streeter To Stand Down At Next Election
3 min read
Conservative MP Dehenna Davison has announced that she will stand down at the next election, the second Tory to make such an announcement today.
Davison's announcement came less than an hour after Conservative Gary Streeter confirmed he will not seek re-election, more than 30 years since he first entered the House of Commons.
In a statement posted on Facebook on Friday afternoon, Davison, who has represented Bishop Auckland since 2019, said that her life in politics has meant that "I haven't had anything like a normal life for a twenty-something."
She added: "I will always be humbled to have had the opportunity to serve as a member of parliament. But now the time feels right for me to devote more of my attention to life outside politics."
She went on: "For now, I'm not sure what my future beyond MP life looks like, but when the time comes, I'm really excited to find out."
Davison has served as a levelling up minister since September, and is among the youngest of Conservative parliamentary cohort at 29 years old.
Meanwhile, Streeter said it has been an “honour and privilege” to represent his South West Devon seat.
In a letter to his constituency chairman, posted on Twitter this afternoon, Streeter said: “The time has come for me to step back and let a younger person take over.”
He added: “I have decided to announce my retirement in good time to give the association time to choose a successor.
“I very much hope that a local candidate will be chosen to give us the best chance of holding this seat.
“I have great confidence that under Rishi Sunak’s leadership our country will recover strongly from recent challenges.”
Streeter, 67, has represented the South West Devon seat since it was created in 1997, having been the MP for nearby Plymouth Sutton from 1992 to 1997.
Streeter served as the shadow secretary of state for international development between June 1998 and September 2001, under the Conservative Party leadership of William Hague.
Earlier this week, Conservatives William Wragg and Chloe Smith also announced that they would stand down at the next election.
Former work and pensions secretary Smith said in a statement posted on her constituency website on Tuesday that she feels it is "the right time for me to step back for me and my young family."
Meanwhile, Wragg said on Twitter than he has "made the decision to not stand at the next election".
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