Steve Brine becomes latest MP planning to step down at next election

The senior MP, who has represented Winchester since 2010 and is the chairman of the Commons health and social care committee, confirmed his departure in a letter to his local Conservative association.

“When I first entered Parliament I had in my mind to serve for 20 years, or four general elections, whichever came first,” he said.

“This wasn’t a hard-and-fast rule, and I don’t think anyone could have predicted the events of the past 13 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.”

Mr Brine joins the ranks of Conservative MPs who have decided stand down at the next general election, which Labour is currently tipped to win after months of strong polling.

Other high-profile names who have already confirmed their departure include former justice secretary Dominic Raab and former health secretary Sajid Javid.

Mr Brine won his Winchester seat by around 1,000 votes at the last general election in 2019, just seeing off a Liberal Democrat challenger.

“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,” he said in the letter.

“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.”

The Tory MP earlier this year was found to have have breached lobbying rules when he contacted Michael Gove and Matt Hancock during the pandemic on behalf of a firm he was employed by.

He apologised, following an investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog.

It comes as Nadine Dorries has missed the deadline to resign as an MP for a by-election to take place before the summer recess.

Ms Dorries announced her intention to resign after her name was not included on Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list, but is yet to do so formally.

It means that a by-election can not now take place on July 20.