MAY STANDS DOWN
Theresa May to stand down as MP at next election as former Prime Minister says ‘it’s been honour & privilege to serve’
The former Prime Minister has revealed what she will be focusing on going forward
THERESA May has announced she will be standing down as an MP at the next General Election.
The former Prime Minister, who has been an MP for 27 years, said it had been an "honour and a privilege" to serve her Maidenhead constituents.
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She made the "difficult" decision to step down to focus on causes close to her heart which "have been taking an increasing amount of my time".
Announcing the news to her local newspaper, the , May said: “Since stepping down as prime minister I have enjoyed being a backbencher again and having more time to work for my constituents and champion causes close to my heart including most recently launching a Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.
“These causes have been taking an increasing amount of my time.
“Because of this, after much careful thought and consideration, I have realised that, looking ahead, I would no longer be able to do my job as an MP in the way I believe is right and my constituents deserve.
“I have therefore taken the difficult decision to stand down at the next General Election.”
She added: “I have served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister but none of that would have been possible without the people of Maidenhead and the constituency which I have been proud to call my home.”
May has been a Conservative MP since 1997, having been elected to the Berkshire seat seven times.
She served as Home Secretary under David Cameron from 2010 to 2016 before taking over his role at Number 10 after he resigned in the wake of the Brexit vote.
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A snap election in 2017 saw May lose her majority, but she remained in power thanks to a deal with the DUP.
She spent the following two years negotiating a Brexit deal with the EU but was forced to resign in 2019 after failing to get it through Parliament.
Outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May gives speech alongside husband Philip as she leaves No10 Downing Street
Announcing her resignation on May 24, 2019, May delivered an emotional speech outside Downing Street in which she described her time in the role as "the honour of my life".
Theresa May: The vicar's daughter who rose to the top of politics
By JACK ELSOM, Chief Political Correspondent
THERESA May’s 27-year career saw her rise to the very top of politics - but she will inevitably look back with some frustration.
After her election as Maidenhead’s MP in 1997, the introverted vicar’s daughter climbed the ranks of Westminster to eventually become Prime Minister in 2016.
While she might not like it, her three years in No10 were defined by Brexit and the ultimate failure to pass her deal.
Her gamble to call a snap general election in 2017 backfired and wiped out her majority in Parliament, emboldening Tory rebels who made her life hell.
After running out of road, May finally quit with a memorable speech thanking people for the opportunity “to serve the country I love”.
That sense of service and public duty has become associated with her in the subsequent years.
While many ex-PMs quit Parliament immediately, she remained as MP for Maidenhead and successfully fought the 2019 election.
Even during her many years at the top of government, she would devote much attention to her constituency work - even throwing on a high-vis jacket to marshal the town’s annual Easter run.
Her pointed interventions from the backbenches still make the chamber fall silent.
And there are many moments where history will judge her kindly - not least her resolute response to the Salisbury poisonings.
While many politicians rise to the top by sucking up and making friends, May is famously unclubbable and efforts to appear otherwise have fallen flat.
(Remember her saying the naughtiest thing she ever did was run through a field of wheat, or that cringe appearance with husband Philip on the One Show?)
Instead, she has risen the ranks with a reputation as a diligent, trustworthy hard-worker unafraid to put noses out of joint.
As Tory party chair in opposition, she famously told Conservative delegates they were becoming known as “the nasty party”.
As the longest-ever serving Home Secretary for six years, she built a reputation as a no-nonsense operator.
Perhaps her most lasting legacy, however, will be the binding legal commitment to reach Net Zero by 2050.
Quietly passed in the last few days of her premiership, it will have ramifications for her successors - and the nation - for a long time to come.
In her statement, the Maidenhead MP said it had been "an honour and a privilege to serve everyone in the Maidenhead constituency".
She added: “Being an MP is about service to one’s constituents and I have always done my best to ensure that I respond to the needs of local people and the local area."
Almost 100 MPs have announced they will not fight their seats at the next election, including 64 Conservatives and former Conservatives.
This is the highest number of Tories to retire from Parliament since May entered the Commons in 1997.
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