Western Morning News (Saturday)
Senior politician Sir Gary to stand down at election
LONG-STANDING Westcountry MP Sir Gary Streeter has announced he is set to stand down from his seat at the next general election.
Sir Gary, who has been the MP for South West Devon for 25 years, formally announced his decision yesterday.
The 67-year-old, who first became the MP for Plymouth Sutton in 1992 before representing the South West Devon constituency from 1997, said he will continue to serve to the best of his ability between now and the next general election. He added that he believes Rishi Sunak “is an outstanding Prime Minister”.
“With him in Number 10, we can and will recover strongly from recent challenges,” Sir Gary said.
Constituents wished Sir Gary well in his retirement and said he had “served us well”.
Sir Gary has shared the letter he sent to Cllr Daniel Brown, the chairman of the South West Devon Conservative Association. It reads: “I write to you as my association chairman to let you know formally that I will not be seeking re-election at the next general election, whenever it comes.
“It has been an honour and privilege to represent this constituency for over thirty years, but the time has come for me to step back and let a younger person take over.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my parliamentary career, including ministerial office under John Major and shadow cabinet under William Hague. I especially enjoyed my time chairing the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, taking democratic principles to emerging nations, and in more recent years chairing the All-Party Group Chris
The time has come for me to step back and let a younger person take over SIR GARY STREETER, MP
tians in Parliament which includes nurturing younger MPs of all parties.”
The letter also outlined the achievements Sir Gary had made during his time as an MP, including the Great South West campaign.
The letter continued: “On the local scene, I was pleased to have helped Devonport Dockyard secure the Trident contract way back in 1993, see progress in the campaign for improved trains and connectivity structure, and to give birth to the Great South West project, which I hope will greatly benefit our region. More recently, I am excited about the education/careers roadmap for our young people that I have helped plan with local educators.
“I have decided to announce my retirement in good time to give the association time to choose a successor. I very much hope that a local candidate will be chosen to give us the best chance of holding this seat. I have great confidence under Rishi Sunak’s leadership our country will recover strongly from recent challenges. Jan and I are very grateful to every member of our local association for such wonderful support over so many years.
“I will of course continue to serve my constituents as best as I can between now and the date of the next general election. Very best wishes.”
Sir Gary has presided over an impressive majority in his South West Devon seat, winning with a 21,430 majority in 2019.