Having been reselected last December as Labour candidate for Neath, I was planning to stand again next year. However, after considerable thought and in discussion with Ed Miliband, Leader of the Party and for many years my close colleague, I have decided to draw stumps on my House of Commons career.
I have been in politics for some 50 years, 23 of those in the House; whilst it is my firm intention to remain active in politics, I have decided that it is time to find new ways to represent the new progressive politics to which I and Ed Miliband are committed. It’s time for a change.
By next May I will have been privileged to serve the marvellous constituency of Neath and its people for nearly a quarter of a century. They warmly welcomed me as an outsider, and members of my family subsequently moved to the Neath Valley where I will remain living after I have stepped down and continue to support Labour in our mission to build a better Neath. Meanwhile I will campaign hard once my successor has been chosen for a Labour victory – in Neath, throughout Wales and across Britain.
Statement from the Neath Constituency Labour Party:
“For the last 23 years Peter Hain has served the people of Neath tirelessly, fighting for constituents and our Labour Party values. Holding government positions like Secretary of State for Wales he delivered further devolution for the people of Wales and at the Department of Trade and Industry he brought many hundreds of millions of pounds of compensation to thousands of chronically ill miners. His unstinting work to negotiate a peace settlement in Northern Ireland has brought a stability to the areas that just years before no-one would have thought possible.
“In the Neath constituency he has helped many thousands of people through his surgeries and advice office. For over two decades he has been a popular campaigning MP fighting for residents and taking up the causes with great passion and commitment, and putting Neath on the map. We thank Peter unreservedly for what he has done for us and are sure he will continue to play an active role in the constituency and the Party.
“As a constituency party we now look to begin the process of finding our Parliamentary candidate for the 2015 General Election and winning a Labour majority.”
