North Norfolk MP to stand down at next election

27 August 2019, 08:27 | Updated: 27 August 2019, 10:36

North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb has said he will stand down at the next general election.

The former health minister has served as the Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk since 2001. 

The 61-year-old does not hold a frontbench role within the party.

"I've made the really tough and difficult decision to stand down after 18 years of being the member of Parliament for North Norfolk," he told Heart.

"It's been an enormous honour and I have enormous gratitude to the people of North Norfolk for the trust that they've shown in me.

"But I now feel, and I've felt for some that I want to focus on the things that I really care about - particularly mental health, learning disability, autism - and to pursue those concerns, hopefully nationally, outside Parliament.

"But today we're setting up a fund to focus on mental health and learning disability in my own county of Norfolk to support grassroots organisations doing amazing work supporting people in the community.

"Norfolk has had challenging times in mental health services over recent years, but there are amazing people doing extraordinarily important work and I want to do what I can, together with my wife Mary, to support those organisations."

The Liberal Democrats have 14 MPs with 12 of them in frontbench jobs.

Changes were announced after Jo Swinson was elected as the party's leader last month.

The two Lib Dem MPs without frontbench roles are Mr Lamb and Sarah Wollaston, formerly of the Conservatives and Change UK and chairwoman of the Health Select Committee.