MP Peter Luff to stand down at next election

Peter Luff, Member of Parliament for Mid-Worcestershire, has announced his decision to leave his role in 2015. It is a move that will bring an end to 23 years of serving the county in Parliament.

The 57-year-old, who first won a seat back in 1992, said it was “the right time to call it a day”.

He said: “I am announcing my decision to continue as your MP only until the next election. It has been an immense privilege to serve the county of Worcestershire in Parliament.

“To the people of Worcestershire who have elected me at five successive general elections, I say thank you. Together we have achieved some great things.”

He has also stepped down as a junior defence minister immediately – but insisted that he was not pushed out of the role by David Cameron.

Mr Luff met the Prime Minister at his Commons office on Tuesday, September 4, and said he told Mr Cameron at the start of the conversation of his intention to quit as an MP in 2015.

“I don’t know if he would have kept me on as a minister or not because at the start of the conversation, I told him I was leaving Parliament at the next general election,” he said. “So we agreed it was best if I did not carry on in that role, and I think that was the right approach.”

Mr Luff said it was an “immense privilege” to be an MP, and that he had stayed in Parliament for longer than he originally intended.

“I haven’t got anything else lined up, no offers, nothing,” he said. “But I’ve carried on for a long time and it’s right I ended it at some time.”

He also thanked local members of the Conservative party and the constituents he has worked with over the years.

“In the two and half years that remain to me as a Member of Parliament, we have more to achieve together and more battles to win.

“There is much more I could say, and many more people I should thank, I am sure. For now I say simply that there is still more work to be done both locally and nationally and I look forward to doing it,” he added.