LONG-SERVING East Hampshire MP Michael Mates has announced he will not stand in the next election after 32 years representing Petersfield. The veteran MP has decided not to put his name forward when candidates are selected to contest the redrawn constituency for the district. Mr Mates, 72, this week told The Herald: "It has been a pleasure and an honour to serve in the House of Commons for the last 32 years as, firstly, the member for Petersfield, and then for East Hampshire. "I am grateful for the loyal support I have had from my electors over these years. "Meanwhile, I will continue to carry out my full duties as an MP until the end of this parliament." In the next general election, people in East Hampshire who live south of Butser Hill will elect a different candidate as part of a newly-formed Meon Valley constituency. There will also be changes to the boundary with North East Hampshire. He added: "If the next general election is held – as expected – in 2009 or 2010, it will be fought on new constituency boundaries. This change seems the right moment for me to stand down." Mr Mates was minister for Northern Ireland for four years in the early 1990s, and also spent 12 years on the defence committee, six of those as chairman. Currently, he sits as the senior Conservative on the intelligence and security committee. Most memorable in his years representing East Hampshire, he said, was helping to establish a new trading estate in Bordon in the 1970s. And he lobbied for 17 years for a bypass to take the A3 around Petersfield and Liphook. More recently, he was chairman of the biggest public meeting in Petersfield's history when people protested about the merger of the town's police force with Whitehill. He was also heavily involved in the fight to reopen The Grange Birthing Centre. But it has not always been plain sailing in his long spell as an MP. In 1993, he resigned from his role as Northern Ireland minister over his links with fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir. It famously emerged in May of that year that he had presented a watch to Mr Nadir bearing the inscription "Don't let the buggers get you down". In 2005, he won an unreserved public apology from The Daily Telegraph after an article smeared him as an under-performing "bed-blocker". And last May, he was involved in angry scenes after the general election count at the Festival Hall in Petersfield. In a fiery confrontation, Liberal Democrat candidate Ruth Bright accused him of trying to "bully" her and trying to interrupt her election campaign. The claims were countered by Mr Mates, who said a Lib Dem leaflet distributed before the election had made "libellous, damaging and wrong" allegations about his performance record at Westminster. Looking back over the years, he told The Herald: "I have had wonderful support for which I have always been grateful. I have tried my best to return that favour by working as hard as I can for the constituency, but I suppose the most important work I have done has been up in London. "Over the years, it has been a complete joy because it is such a lovely constituency. "What I have achieved by waiting until now is an orderly transition, and I will be on hand to help the next candidate in the run in to the election." Town mayor Bob Ayer also paid tribute to Mr Mates, who was returned as MP for East Hampshire for the eighth time in 2005 with 24,273 votes. He said: "It is a pleasure working with Michael. One only has to talk with constituents he has helped to realise how much constituency work he does behind the scenes, and their gratitude for the consideration and help he has given them."
