Osborne quits but Clegg and Clarke stay to fight Brexit
George Osborne will stand down from parliament to focus one of his new roles as editor of the Evening Standard, the former chancellor has announced.
But his former government colleague, Nick Clegg, has decided to fight for his Sheffield Hallam seat, leaving him as the only major figure from the Conservative-lib Dem coalition still pursuing a political career.
Jo Swinson, the former Lib Demminister,alsoannounced that she will try to reclaim her East Dunbartonshire seat, which she lost to the SNP’S John Nicholson in 2015 by 2,167 votes.
And despite Theresa May saying she was calling a snap election to head off opposition to Brexit, veteran europhile Tory Ken Clarke said he would fight his 13th election in Rushcliffe at the age of 76.
Announcing the end of his political career “for now”, Mr Osborne said: “I will go on fighting for that Britain I love from the editor’s chair of a great newspaper. It’s still too early to be writing my memoirs.”
Mr Clegg accused the Prime Minister of opportunism by calling an early election, saying he was standing to fight against “a hard Brexit which I believe is bad for my constituents here in south-west Sheffield and bad for the country as a whole.”
The Labour party said former leader Ed Miliband would be standing.