John has written to the South Oxfordshire Conservative Association to let them know that he will be retiring and not seeking re-adoption to stand as the candidate for the Henley Constituency at the next General election. He will, of course, remain the MP for the Constituency until such time as the election is called and Parliament dissolved.
John said: ‘By the time of the end of the next parliament i will be coming up towards my mid-70’s. I do not want to be in parliament until that time as I would like to pursue other avenues. I am a strong supporter of Rishi Sunak and I hope that the South Oxfordshire Conservative Association will continue to get behind him.’
John was first elected in 2008 and has successfully contested four General Elections since then, retaining over 50% of vote share at each one. He has always campaigned hard and never taken the seat for granted despite the large size of some of his majorities. During his time as an MP John has held a number of positions, most recently and currently as the Leader of the UK Parliamentary Delegation to the Council of Europe.
John added: ‘I have enjoyed my time as the MP for this constituency and I thank the people here for their support. I also enjoy my time leading the UK Delegation to the Council of Europe. Most recently I am proud to have been able to visit the Turkish prisoner, Osman Kavala, on behalf of the European Court of Human Rights. We are a multinational nation and I am pleased to have demonstrated this.’
Government appointments that John has held in Parliament include:
- Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the House
- Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister for Planning
- Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
- Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Nigeria
- Government Neighbourhood Planning Champion
- Member of the Justice Select Committee
- Chairman of the Industry and Parliament Trust
- Chairman of the Communities and Local Government Conservative Backbench Committee
- Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government
- Leader of the British Delegation to the Council of Europe
- Vice-President of the Council of Europe
