Portillo explains decision to bow out of politics
Former Tory defence secretary Michael Portillo has explained his shock decision to bow out of Westminster politics at the next general election.
Mr Portillo’s announcement yesterday came as Michael Howard took up the reigns of the Conservative Party.
The MP for Kensington and Chelsea was widely expected to take up a new post in Mr Howard’s shadow cabinet.
But he declined the offer and chose instead to look elsewhere for employment.
The one-time leadership candidate said the decision had little to do with Mr Howard’s selection as leader, saying instead he had simply lost interest “in the cut and thrust” of parliamentary debate.
Mr Portillo said he had declined to serve in the shadow cabinet because his plans for the future had changed.
Mr Portillo said last night: “No snub is intended and I’m sure Michael Howard doesn’t see it that way. I was due to make this announcement probably in the next couple of weeks anyway to give my constituency time to choose a new person.”
He added: “I had a very long period when I was a minister in the thick of it, but the last couple of years I have been on the backbenches. During that time I have been looking at other things, doing some stuff in the media and in the arts and thinking about which way my career should go.”
But Labour’s health secretary, Dr John Reid, said the decision proved not all was well in the house of Howard: “This is a massive snub to Mr Poll Tax – Michael Howard. It shows the moderates and modernisers in the Conservative Party have given up. Howard’s new cabinet will all be true believers.”
Mr Portillo’s inclusion in the shadow cabinet was perceived as a dream ticket for Mr Howard who had wanted to lead “from the centre.” Mr Portillo was widely regarded as a major liberal moderniser in the party.
