Transport secretary Kelly to leave government
Transport secretary Ruth Kelly is to step down from government
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Wednesday, 24, Sep 2008 08:54
Transport secretary Ruth Kelly has announced she is to step down from her position within the Cabinet.
Ms Kelly, 40, said she is leaving her position in the government to spend more time with her family.
Addressing the Labour party conference in Manchester this morning, the Labour MP for Bolton West said it was a "tremendous privilege" to have served in the Cabinet.
"But conference, as well as a front line politician, I am also proud to be a mother and wife. To be able to hold these jobs, I have relied on the support of my husband and family," she said.
"So I ask for your understanding when I say that I now owe it to my children and family to put them first. If I do not, then I know that this is something I will come to regret deeply.
"Conference, while we have not always agreed on every issue, I am enormously proud of all that we have achieved together over the past decade," Ms Kelly added.
"And I am confident that Labour has the values, vision and determination to see this country through difficult times."
Ms Kelly told reporters earlier: "Bringing up four young children and being an MP has not been easy all the time."
A Downing Street spokesman had earlier confirmed her departure but was unable to say when she would be replaced.
Ms Kelly confirmed that she had told Gordon Brown back in May about her decision to "step back" from politics but had no influence on the timing of today's announcement.
Ms Kelly said that her decision was "absolutely, completely for personal reasons" and rejected claims it was over her objection to the human fertilisation and embryology bill.
"I owe it to my family to put them first," she said, before ending that she would continue to support the Labour party.
In a series of television interviews this morning, the prime minister said he supported Ms Kelly's decision.
"Ruth Kelly's a very good friend of mine - she feels the tension between being a constituency MP, a minister and having a family of four," Mr Brown told Sky News.
"She wants to spend more time with her children. This was a very personal decision."
Reports suggest the transport secretary will step down in the next Cabinet reshuffle.
Ms Kelly was elected to parliament in 1997 and has been a member of the Cabinet since 2004.