Caerphilly Labour MP Wayne David to retire at next election

Caerphilly's Labour MP Wayne David has announced he will be standing down at the next general election.

Mr David was first elected to represent Caerphilly at the 2001 general election.

During his time in Parliament, he served as Wales Office minister and was on Labour's frontbench for nearly 14 years.

Announcing his retirement, the 64-year-old said it was "time to make way for a younger person."

From 1989, Wayne David spent 10 years as a Member of the European Parliament, during which time he led the Labour party in Brussels.

He stood down from that role to contest the Rhondda seat in the first Welsh assembly election in 1999, but unexpectedly lost the constituency to Plaid Cymru.

But Mr David succeeded former Welsh Secretary Ron Davies as the MP for Caerphilly in 2001.

Mr David said: "It has been my privilege to be the MP for Caerphilly for nearly 21 years and I would like to thank local Labour party members and the people of the Caerphilly constituency for all their wonderful support over this time.

"I shall of course continue to work hard for my constituency until the general election, whenever that is, and my loyalty to the Labour Party is as strong as ever."

"I believe under Keir Starmer Labour has a very good chance of winning the next general election and I will be doing all I can to help bring about that victory," he added.