Wimbledon: Tory MP Stephen Hammond to stand down at next election

Stephen Hammond has become the latest MP to confirm he will not be standing at the next general election.

The Wimbledon MP is among more than 40 Conservatives to have announced they will not defend their seats in a vote that is likely to happen next year.

In a letter to his local party association, Mr Hammond wrote he would "not seek the nomination" despite believing "we can win locally".

He described it as an "incredibly tough decision".

In his letter on Thursday, Mr Hammond said that "despite the national picture, I do believe we can win locally... However, this is the right decision for Sally (his wife) and me.

"In recent years we have both been stretched by increased caring responsibilities for our elderly parents and this is unlikely to change in the coming years."

He said it had been the "privilege of my life" to represent Wimbledon at Westminster for the past 18 years.

The 61-year-old was first elected to Parliament in 2005 and was promoted to the government front benches in 2012, being handed a junior transport role by David Cameron during the coalition years before losing his position in a reshuffle two years later.

During the Brexit years, he was twice punished for rebelling against Tory governments.

Former prime minister Theresa May sacked him as vice-chairman of the party in 2017 after he voted in favour of a so-called "meaningful vote" on her Withdrawal Agreement.

In September 2019, he was one of 21 MPs stripped of the Tory Party whip by then-prime minister Boris Johnson after they backed a plan to take control of the Commons timetable to pass legislation to block a no-deal Brexit.

A host of senior party MPs have chosen not to fight for another term.

Former defence secretary Ben Wallace and former cabinet ministers Dominic Raab, George Eustice, Matt Hancock and Sajid Javid have all called time on their Commons careers.