Political

Norman Lamb standing down as an MP

Long-standing Liberal Democrat MP, and former candidate for party leader, Norman Lamb is not going to stand at the next general election.

Amongst the candidates he has defeated along the way in his North Norfolk constituency, in 2005 Norman Lamb beat then Conservative Party candidate Iain Dale.

Norman Lamb told the Eastern Daily Press:

It’s been 18 and a half years. I spent 11 years before that trying to get elected. I started out against a 15,500 Conservative majority in 1992.

In that time, every election in north Norfolk, whether a by-election for the council, or whatever else, I’ve fought every election and been out knocking on doors. It’s been a body and soul experience really…

If I was wanting to offer advice or a view about how politicians in the future need to act to get us out of this mess, I would like to see more people focusing on national unity, on reconciliation…

We’ve got so much in common and this country has so much it can achieve. We all feel very proud of our country, but we are in danger of damaging it.

It’s a what-if to entertain future generations of Liberal Democrats if Norman Lamb had won the 2015 leadership contest. As one of the less Europhile Liberal Democrats (a relative scale, of course, still making him far more pro-European than many others), it’s likely that Norman Lamb would not have stuck with the party’s strongly pro-European position post-referendum in the way that Tim Farron did. Although Theresa May’s refusal to seek compromise across party lines means he may have ended up in the same policy position after all.

Whatever may or may not have happened with him as leader, Norman Lamb has been a major contributor to the party, his constituency and the country in many ways over the years. That has included inspiring many other campaigners and candidates with the way he built up his own seat over multiple elections, along with making a huge contribution to improving treatment for people with mental health ailments.

Thank you for all you’ve done, Norman.

3 responses to “Norman Lamb standing down as an MP”

  1. Very sad news indeed. He has done so much to help those with mental illness and has brought the issue into the open.
    We’ll miss him, but the country will miss him more.
    Thank you Norman.

  2. One of the best people in politics. I voted for him as a leader candidate, supported him as a campaigner, he is as nice a man as he is good an mp. Sir Norman shall be around a long while, looking forward to us working as ever, with him.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All comments and data you submit with them will be handled in line with the privacy and moderation policies.