Kwasi Kwarteng to stand down as Spelthorne MP

Former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has announced he will be standing down from Parliament at the next general election.

The MP for Spelthorne in Surrey said on X it had been an “honour to serve the residents of Spelthorne since 2010”.

Mr Kwarteng became the UK’s first black Conservative cabinet minister in 2021.

A senior figure in former Prime Minster Liz Truss’s government, he was sacked as chancellor in October 2022.

He lasted just 38 days in the role after a mini-budget he produced resulted in financial turbulence and a revolt from Tory MPs.

Announcing his decision not to stand again, he said: “I informed my association chair of my decision not to stand at the next general election.

“It has been an honour to serve the residents of Spelthorne since 2010, and I shall continue to do so for the remainder of my time in Parliament.”

His brief tenure as chancellor made him the second shortest serving chancellor behind Iain Macleod, who died a month after taking office in 1970.

Prior to his time at the Treasury, Mr Kwarteng served in a number of junior ministerial roles before becoming business secretary under Boris Johnson in 2021.

Mr Kwarteng is the latest Surrey MP to announce he is standing down.

The others are: Sir Paul Beresford in Mole Valley, Crispin Blunt in Reigate, Chris Grayling in Epsom & Ewell, and Dominic Raab in Esher & Walton.

There are currently 11 MPs for Surrey but the county will have 12 at the next election due to boundary changes.

Mr Kwarteng secured a majority of 18,393 at the last election.

His Spelthorne seat has been a generally safe Conservative one, returning a Labour MP only once in more than 100 years.

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk.