British ex-chancellor Osborne quits as MP

Britain's former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne quit Wednesday as a member of Parliament (MP).

His decision was announced in the London Evening Standard, the newspaper which recently named him as its new editor.

The newspaper said although Osborne is standing down as a politician he will carry on "fighting for that Britain I love" as editor of the Evening Standard. In a letter revealing his decision to Conservatives in his Tatton constituency in northwest England, he said he was thrilled to be taking charge of "a great newspaper".

Osborne hinted he could make a political comeback in future, saying he was leaving Westminster "for now".

He wrote: "I am stepping down from the House of Commons - for now. But I will remain active in the debate about our country's future and on the issues I care about, like the success of the Northern Powerhouse."

Explaining his decision to step down, he said: "At the age of 45, I don't want to spend the rest of my life just being an ex-Chancellor. I want new challenges."

Osborne has been an MP for 16 years and was the youngest Conservative MP of his generation in 2001.

He served as Chancellor in David Cameron's government, but Theresa May fired Osborne after she succeeded Cameron at 10 Downing Street. After that Osborne became a back bench MP, taking on a number of external jobs. Enditem