London - The former British Conservative prime minister, Mr John Major, announced yesterday he would not be standing in the next general election, saying it was time for politics to make way for family life and for him to enjoy other aspects of life that had been "subordinated over so many years", Rachel Donnelly reports.
Mr Major (56) informed the members of his local Huntingdon Conservative Association of his decision in a letter in which he wrote that "after a great deal of soul-searching and sadness" he had decided not to stand for re-election. "I would rather go while I am being urged to stay rather than stay beyond the time when I should go," he wrote.
The former Conservative Cabinet minister, Mr John MacGregor, also announced he would not be fighting the next election. Mr MacGregor (63), currently a member of the Commons Committee on Standards in Public Life, served as education secretary and leader of the house during Baroness Thatcher's and Mr Major's governments.