Indian-origin Conservative Party member of Parliament and former president of the COP26 climate summit Alok Sharma has announced his intention to not contest the next UK general election.
The 56-year-old Agra-born MP, who was knighted as Sir Alok in King Charles III's 2023 New Year's Honours list for his contribution to combatting climate change through his leadership at COP26, said he would continue to champion environmental causes in the House of Commons for the remainder of his term.
Mr Sharma's Reading West constituency has undergone a boundary change and will become Reading West and Mid Berkshire in time for the next general election, expected in 2024.
"I have this evening informed my local Conservative Association that I have decided not to stand at the next general election and, therefore, do not seek to be adopted as the Conservative candidate for the revised seat of Reading West & Mid Berkshire," Mr Sharma said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday night.
"This has not been an easy decision for me. It has been the honour of my life to serve as the MP for a constituency in the town where I grew up and a privilege to serve in government and represent the UK on the international stage," he said.
"I will continue to support my Conservative colleagues and serve my constituents diligently for the remainder of my time as an MP, as well as champion in Parliament the causes I care deeply about especially climate action," he added.
Mr Sharma was selected as a parliamentary candidate in 2006 and has served as a Tory MP since 2010. In his role as Cabinet minister since then, he has been appointed Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and International Development until he was conferred a Cabinet-level role as COP26 president by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in January 2021.
Under British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, he has been on the backbenches and most recently spoke out to express his concerns about the government's delay in certain targets towards meeting the country's climate action Net Zero pledge by 2050.
"Chopping and changing policies creates uncertainty for businesses and the public. Ultimately, this makes it more difficult to attract investment and pushes up costs for consumers," he said last week.
Mr Sharma joins a number of other Tory colleagues, including former defence secretary Ben Wallace, who have announced plans not to contest the next general election.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
