Val Shawcross to step down as London assembly member

After almost 16 years on the London Assembly, Val Shawcross AM, has today announced she will not be seeking re-election in 2016.

Shawcross, the Assembly Member for Lambeth and Southwark, was made Chair of theLondon Fire and Emergency Planning Authority in 2000. She is currently the Labour London Assembly Spokesperson for Transport and Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee and she serves on the Assembly Budget Scrutiny Committee.

Shawcross explained her decision in a statement, saying :

“Throughout my time as an Assembly Member I have always been clear that I would have a life after politics. By the time of the next election I will have been the London Assembly  Member  for Lambeth and Southwark  for 16 years and in public life since 1994 when I was first elected to Croydon Council.  After all that time I feel this is the right time to bow out of public life.

“It has been an absolute honour to serve the people of Lambeth and Southwark and I am very proud of the work my colleagues and I have done at City Hall, holding two Mayors to account and standing up for the interests of our great city and its people.

“When I was first elected in 2000 I couldn’t have imagined how I would see the Assembly and the Mayoralty  develop and the positive impact they would have on London.  Whilst there are many memories I will take away with me I am particularly proud of my time spent chairing the London Fire Brigade, modernising the service, introducing a focus on prevention and significantly cutting the number of fire deaths.

“Until the election I will remain utterly committed to serving the people of Lambeth and Southwark and to my role fighting for a fair deal for London’s transport passengers as Chair of the Assembly Transport Committee.”