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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Ruth Kelly to stand down as an MP | Ruth Kelly to stand down as an MP |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly has said that she will stand down as an MP at the next general election. | Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly has said that she will stand down as an MP at the next general election. |
| She made the announcement at a Labour supporters' meeting in her Bolton West constituency, the BBC has learned. | She made the announcement at a Labour supporters' meeting in her Bolton West constituency, the BBC has learned. |
| Ms Kelly made it clear she wanted to spend more time with her four children as they grew up and stressed she was not seeking a safer seat. | Ms Kelly made it clear she wanted to spend more time with her four children as they grew up and stressed she was not seeking a safer seat. |
| She has already said she will leave the cabinet at the next reshuffle - expected on Friday. | |
| 'No issues' | |
| Ms Kelly, who has four children aged 11 or under, won Bolton West at the last election, in 2005, with a 2,064-vote majority. | |
| Prior to her resignation as a minister, there had been speculation the 40-year-old, a devout Catholic, could leave the government because of her objections to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. | |
| Ms Kelly previously served as communities secretary and education secretary. She has been an MP since 1997. | |
| After her decision to leave the government was revealed, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "There are no political issues between Ruth and me." | |
| He added: "Ruth has been an MP all the time that her children have been growing up." |