George Osborne to step down as MP

Former Chancellor George Osborne will not contest his seat in the snap election on 8 June.

He will step down as MP for Tatton, the Evening Standard, where is set to become the new editor in May, reported on Wednesday.

Osborne said: “I am stepping down from the House of Commons - for now. But I will remain active in the debate about our country’s future and on the issues I care about, like the success of the Northern Powerhouse.

“I want a Britain that is free, open, diverse and works with other nations to defend our democratic values in the world.

“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.

He explained that: “At the age of 45, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life just being an ex-chancellor. I want new challenges. I’m very excited about the opportunity to edit the Evening Standard. I’ve met the team there, and their energy and commitment to this great newspaper are positively infectious.”

Osborne was appointed editor of the Evening Standard in March and faced calls to step down as an MP over conflict of interest.

He has been an MP for 16 years and when elected in 2001 he was the youngest Conservative in the House of Commons. He was Chancellor for six years in David Cameron's government and was sacked last July after Theresa May become the new Prime Minister following the EU referendum.

May called a snap election on Tuesday in order to “strengthen her hand” in Brexit negotiations and is expected to have the support of two thirds of MPs to repeal the Fixed Term Parliaments Act on Wednesday. The next general election had been scheduled for 2020.