TAUNTON Deane MP Jeremy Browne has announced that he will not be standing again at next May’s General Election.

LibDem Mr Browne, who was first elected in 2005, will continue to represent the constituency until the poll.

In a letter to Taunton Deane LibDem constituency chairman Gill Slattery, Mr Browne, who is 44, said he has no ambitions to remain in Parliament until he retires.

He said: “It is time to do something different. There is a world beyond politics full of opportunities and it will be exciting to explore it.”

Mr Browne said he was confident the LibDems would hang onto the seat next summer.

He said “in national politics my race is run” and there is speculation that he is disillusioned with the direction of his party as it battles with the possibility of losing several seats next May and the leadership of Nick Clegg.

Mr Browne spent spells as a Minister in both the Foreign Office and the Home Office, but it is believed his relationship with Mr Clegg has become frosty since he was sacked from the latter post, with little chance of advancement in the current set up.

In his letter, Mr Browne has moved to quash speculation that he could defect to the Conservatives.

Mrs Slattery said: “Jeremy has been a dedicated MP for Taunton Deane for almost 10 years and has made a great contribution to our community.

“He has been in his position for longer than almost any other senior person in public service in Taunton Deane. We are sad that he is standing down but he has been an energetic and dutiful MP. We understand his wish to do something different beyond politics.

“We plan to have a strong candidate in place very soon. This is a constituency that has bucked the national trend on a number of occasions in recent years.

“We did so in the 2010 General Election with an increased majority, and we increased our presence on the county council at the 2013 election.

“We have a long-established and trusted relationship with the electorate here, and our councillors, just like Jeremy, are known for working hard in their wards and divisions, and getting the job done.

“We are a lively and buoyant constituency, and we fully expect to retain the seat for the LibDems next May.

 

 

Jeremy Browne’s letter to Gill Slattery.

 

After considerable deliberation I have decided not to contest Taunton Deane as the Liberal Democrat candidate at the 2015 General Election and to stand down as the Member of Parliament for Taunton Deane at the end of this Parliament.

By 2015 I will have been the Member of Parliament for Taunton Deane for ten years. That is generally long enough to do the same job. It is not my ambition to remain in Parliament until I retire. I have been very committed to the role and I have done it to the best of my ability. It is time to do something different. There is a world beyond politics full of opportunities and it will be exciting to explore it.

I hope and expect that the Liberal Democrats will hold Taunton Deane at the 2015 General Election. We defied the national trends by winning at the last two General Elections and gaining seats in the County Council elections last year. My goal has always been to ensure that the Liberal Democrats are the natural choice for the residents of Taunton Deane. We should be confident of again demonstrating the realisation of that objective in 2015.

I have also come to the conclusion that in national politics my race is run. I have enjoyed writing two books in the past year exploring the strategic and ideological choices confronting both the Liberal Democrats and the United Kingdom. My views have been well rehearsed and I do not wish to add any more. I hope that others may find some value in them. I have been proud to be an unwavering supporter of the first government to contain Liberal Democrat Ministers since the Second World War. I was also honoured to serve my country as a Minister of State in the Foreign Office and the Home Office and grateful to be given this opportunity.

For the avoidance of any doubt, I will not be joining another political party and I have no intention to serve in any other capacity in politics.

I am humbled by the support I have received since I was first selected as the local Liberal Democrat candidate in 2001: from the people of Taunton Deane (often regardless of how they voted), from family and friends, from the staff who have worked with me, from the Taunton Deane Liberal Democrats, and from the wider family of Liberal Democrats, of which I have been a member for 26 years. It has been a memorable journey, but every journey must come to an end.