Exiting Kilfoyle ‘prefers outback to politics’
By politics.co.uk staff
Peter Kilfoyle, one of Labour’s most colourful backbenchers, has confirmed his plans to stand down at the general election.
The Liverpool Walton MP is reportedly stepping down for health reasons. But told the Liverpool Daily Post newspaper his new focus was on tracking down a distant cousin, Tom Kilfoyle, who was last seen heading into the Australian outback to find a cattle station.
“I have been considering my position for some time and have come to the conclusion that it is time for me to go,” the newspaper quoted Mr Kilfoyle’s letter to local party members as saying.
“There comes a time, if one is sensible, to step aside and spend some time watching the wheels go round. That time has come for me.”
Mr Kilfoyle draws to a close 19 years in Westminster, following his victory in a 1991 by-election following the death of Eric Heffer.
The 63-year-old served as Tony Blair’s campaign manager for the Labour party leadership in 1994 and was rewarded with a ministerial post in the Ministry of Defence.
But his vocal opposition to the war on Iraq – expressed most effectively in his polemic ‘Lies, Damned Lies and Iraq’ – meant his final years in parliament were spent firmly on the backbenches.
“Did I succeed? Only you know that – and, even then, how do you measure success in politics?” he added.
“Much of political life is an illusion, to both the participant and the observer.”
