BEN Wallace has confirmed that he will be stepping down as Defence Secretary at the next reshuffle and that he won’t be standing as an MP at the next election.
It comes amid reports in The Times this morning that he was considering his position before it was confirmed by the same newspaper on Saturday evening.
He joins a list of more than 40 Tory MPs who have said they won’t be standing at the next General Election.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Who is Ben Wallace?
Wallace serves as the Conservative MP for Wyre and Preston North – a position he has held since the constituency was first created in 2010.
After leaving school at 18, Wallace did a short stint as a ski instructor in Austria before entering the Royal Military Academy.
He was commissioned into the Scots Guards at twenty and has also worked in the aerospace industry.
What’s his connection to Scotland?
Wallace first entered politics in 1999 when he was elected as a Tory MSP for the North East Scotland region.
He held this position until 2003 when he stood down and moved to Lancashire. He was selected to fight the marginal seat of Lancaster & Wyre for the Tories which he won.
What positions has he held in the UK Government?
After the 2015 General Election, Wallace was promoted and held the position of under-secretary of state for Northern Ireland.
He then became the minister of state for security at the Home Office and was then made Defence Secretary in 2019.
Why is he stepping down?
In his interview with the Times, Wallace said he was not stepping down due to fears his party would lose the next election.
He said he believes the current UK Government can win the next General Election and that voters are not “yet convinced at all by Keir Starmer”.
