Veteran MP Austin Mitchell to step down

Grimsby MP Austin Mitchell is stepping down from Parliament in 2015 after 37 years. The 79 year old – who was a regional TV presenter before becoming an MP – had surgery to repair a leaky heart valve in July last year. He told his constituency of his decision to leave the Commons at a meeting last night.

Writing for the Yorkshire Post, Mitchell said:

“I’m standing down because I’m old and for no other reason. To be honest I’d like to carry on but I’ll be 80 this year and am already the sixth oldest MP in a parliament where the premium is on youth and the average age goes down every election.

I love my ring side seat in the power struggle but I don’t want to fall apart and die in it. A new MP for Grimsby can bring new ideas and a new drive to the tough job of representing the best constituency in the country. Grimsby is a community within a constituency not a slice of somewhere else like most seats.”

Reacting to the news of Mitchell’s planned departure, Ed Miliband released a statement saying:

“Austin has been a fantastic campaigner for the Labour Party, both here in Parliament, but also in Grimsby, where he has served for almost 37 years. His commitment to the people of Grimsby is second to none and I will miss his humour, dedication and friendship.

“His legacy includes opening up Parliament to the people, campaigning for the introduction of television cameras in the House of Commons chamber and campaigning to safeguard the UK fishing industry.

“We will miss Austin and we thank him for his lifetime contribution to the Labour Party and to Parliament.”​

Great Grimsby has been a safe Labour seat for decades, but in the 2010 election the majority was slashed to just 714. That said, this will still be considered a very appealing seat – we’re expecting plenty of candidates to throw their hats into the ring. When Mitchell was selected, there were 600 other candidates…