Andy Street rules out general election bid
The former Mayor of the West Midlands has announced that he will not stand as an MP in the general election.
Andy Street said he has thought “long and hard about whether to try to stand for Parliament” on July 4, but has decided against it.
He said that whilst the job of MP is of “great importance” it has “just never been for me”.
“Truthfully I have been an executive leader for 20 years now, and would find it extremely difficult to step back from that at this time.
“I do however still believe strongly in my brand of moderate and inclusive Conservatism and will continue to use my voice ferociously to champion that approach – whatever happens on July 4.
“Many will assume now that I am destined to go back into business – but I still feel I have much to contribute to public life in a leadership role, and I look forward to exploring opportunities to do just that.”
Street was narrowly defeated by Richard Parker in the West Midlands Mayoral election at the start of May. He was previously chair of the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) between 2011 and 2016 and managing director of retail giant John Lewis before being elected as Mayor in 2017.
