Tory MP Steve Brine has announced he is standing down at the next election. In a letter to his local association, Brine said it was time for a “new chapter” in his life after serving as MP for Winchester and Chandler’s Ford since 2010. Being found to have broken lobbying rules earlier this year might’ve clarified his thinking too…

Brine said today:

“When I first entered Parliament I had in my mind to serve for twenty years – or four General Elections – whichever came first. This wasn’t a hard and fast rule, and I don’t think anyone could have predicted the events of the past thirteen years, but it feels like the right time now, for both myself and the family. Going forward, I feel I can pursue some of the issues I care about – in health and perhaps elsewhere – outside Parliament as well as within.

During my time as our MP, Susie and I have had two wonderful children and I’ve put my heart and soul into doing the job. My team and I have done tens of thousands of pieces of casework to-date and that quietly remains the bedrock of my work for the people I represent. But that has all come at a price; being away several nights every week, working at pace across this vast constituency when I am home plus every weekend and just the sheer intensity of this role in the modern age.

We always think our children need us most when they’re little, and that is of course true in the most basic caring sense, but I’ve learnt they need us more as they get older. I hope, in time, to be around a little more; both for them but also for Susie who has supported me every step of the way and without whom I could never have done any of this.”

According to UK Polling Report, he was on track to lose to the LibDems…

He’s the forty-second Tory to throw in the towel at the next election… not to mention the four upcoming by-elections.