James Purnell announces he is to stand down at the general election
James Purnell confirms he is to stand down at general election
Friday, 19, Feb 2010 05:34
By Richard James.
The former work and pensions secretary James Purnell is to step down from parliament at the next general election.
The Times newspaper reports the Stalybridge and Hyde MP told the Labour party of his decision on Friday morning.
In a statement he declared: "I have been proud to represent the people of Stalybridge and Hyde. And this has been an extremely difficult decision to make. But I have decided that I no longer wish to be an MP.
"I have spent all my working life in or about Westminster. And while this has been a huge privilege, I've realised I don't want to have spent all my life in frontline politics.
"I'm looking forward to completing my project at [the thinktank] Demos. After that my hope is to contribute ideas to public service and to the Labour party."
Read the full statement here
Mr Purnell, 39, came close to triggering the fall of Gordon Brown last year when he quit the Cabinet criticising the prime minister's leadership.
It was expected other Cabinet ministers would join him and force a Labour party leadership battle. However, they were not forthcoming and Mr Brown remained in power.
A well-known supporter of former prime minister Tony Blair, the 39-year-old revealed last week in an interview with Labour List that he would not be returning to frontline politics.