Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison will not stand at next election

Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison has announced she will not stand in the next election. Credit: ITV News.

A North East MP has announced she will not stand in the next general election.

Dehenna Davison, the Conservative member for Bishop Auckland, said she wanted to devote more attention to her life outside politics.

The levelling up minister had been seen as one of the rising stars of the Tory party after becoming the first Conservative MP for Bishop Auckland in 2019.

The 29-year-old said: “For my whole adult life, I’ve dedicated the vast majority of my time to politics, and to help make people’s lives better. But, to be frank, it has meant I haven’t had anything like a normal life for a twenty-something.

"I’ve worked on, managed, and stood in so many election campaigns, and, since being elected in 2019, I’ve given my all to being an MP."

She added: "I will always be humbled to have had the opportunity to serve as a Member of Parliament. But now the time feels right for me to devote more of my attention to life outside politics - mainly to my family, and helping support them as they’ve helped support me.

"That’s why I won’t be standing in the next General Election. Just to reassure, until the election comes, I absolutely won’t be checking out. I will continue to serve my constituents with the same gusto and dedication right until the day when I hand the baton onto the next person who will have the honour of representing the amazing people of Bishop Auckland."

Ms Davison has been a parliamentary undersecretary for levelling up since September.

During her time in Parliament she has campaigned to reform the sentencing of one punch attacks, something close to her heart following the death of her father Dominic in 2007.

Ms Davison added: "I will always be grateful to the Conservative Party as a whole, and to all the individual members who have supported me, for giving a young, working class lass from Sheffield the opportunity to serve as an MP. And I will always be passionate about politics as a means to create meaningful, lasting and positive change.

"For now, I’m not sure what my future beyond MP life looks like, but, when the time comes, I’m really excited to find out.”

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