David Cameron, the former prime minister, has surprised the political world by announcing his abrupt resignation as an MP so he can "start to build a life outside Westminster".
Cameron, who was prime minister from 2010 and announced his resignation on 24 June this year – the day after the EU referendum which sealed his fate – said he did not want to be a distraction from Theresa May's government. He added that he wanted the people of his constituency, Witney in Oxfordshire, where he has served since 2001, to have an MP who is fully active in parliamentary life. Cameron's resignation as an MP is with immediate effect.
Not for the first time, Cameron shocked Westminster with an announcement about his future. Before the last general election, he said he would not serve a full second term if he won, and then again surprised some with his swift resignation after the vote to leave the EU.
The former prime minister, who is writing his memoirs, today told ITV: "I have thought about this long and hard over the summer and I have decided the right thing to do is to stand down as the member of parliament for Witney. There will be a byelection."
Cameron implied that having lost the referendum which critics say he should never have called, he needed to step down from politics given "the circumstances of my resignation".
He said: "I will give the Conservative candidate my full support. But in my view, with modern politics, with the circumstances of my resignation it isn't really possible to be a proper backbench MP as a former prime minister. I think everything you do will become a big distraction and a big diversion from what the government needs to do for our country."
Cameron denied that the move would be seen as a snub to his successor, saying that he had discussed it with her and she understood. "I supportTheresa May," he said. "I think she's got off to a great start. I think she can be a strong prime minister for our country. And I don't want to be that distraction. I want Witney to have a new MP who can play a full part in parliamentary and political life without being a distraction. I want to thank everybody here in West Oxfordshire who has been so supportive. It has been a great honour and privilege to serve this area and to serve these brilliant people. I'm going to go on living locally. I will go on supporting the local causes and charities that make this such a great place in our country. But obviously I'm going to have to start to build a life outside Westminster. I hope I'll continue to contribute in terms of public service and of course contribute to this country that I love so much."
Asked directly about how the move would be seen in relation to May's premiership, Cameron said: "I spoke to Theresa May and she was very understanding about this decision. I support her. I support what she's doing. She's got off to a cracking start. Obviously I'm going to have my own views about different issues; people would know that. And that's really the point. As a former prime minister it is very difficult, I think, to sit as a backbencher and not be an enormous diversion and distraction from what the government is doing. I don't want to be that distraction."
Cameron, who famously is reported to enjoy "chillaxing", had previously said he intended to serve a full term as an MP.
And in his final session of Prime Minister's Questions following the referendum on June 23, Cameron said he would continue to "watch these exchanges from the backbenches".
There was some speculation this afternoon that his resignation was linked to May's planned reintroduction of grammar schools, which Cameron opposed as Tory leader, but the former prime minister denied this.
Cameron, who as leader of the Opposition said his faith came and went "like the London radio station Magic FM in the Chilterns", has by all accounts grown in faith during his premiership.
Having been raised in an old rectory in Berkshire next to a church where his father Ian was a warden, his belief is said to have deepened following the deaths of both his son Ivan in 2009, and his father in 2010.
Today, he occasionally attends weekday Eucharist at St Mary Abbots Anglican church on Kensington High Street in London, next to the school attended by his daughter Nancy.
Cameron is widely credited with 'modernising' the Tory party and – in the face of objections from some traditionalists – introducing same-sex marriage, a move which he has described as one of the proudest moments in his premiership.
