Norman to stand down as Tory MP

Mr Norman says businessmen should be able to join politics

Ex-Asda boss Archie Norman is to stand down as Conservative MP for Tunbridge Wells at the next general election.

Mr Norman said he had never seen being an MP as a job for life but businessmen should be able to play a role.

He added: "My time in politics has been a rich mix of achievement, fun and occasionally frustration."

The ex-frontbencher's decision will start a keen race among would-be MPs for what is seen as the 20th safest Tory seat, with a 9,730 majority.

Mr Norman entered Parliament in 1997 after being both chief executive and chairman of supermarket Asda.

He was credited with transforming the chain over nine years from a failing business to one which had overtaken rivals Safeway and Sainsbury's, netting shareholders a 1,000% return.

Once in politics, he was soon appointed Tory chief executive by then leader William Hague and pioneered the reforms which led to the party's first constitution in 1998.

Prescott battles

In 1999, he was appointed shadow Europe minister and a year later he joined the shadow cabinet.

As shadow environment secretary, he was pitted against Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who jibed in Parliament that Mr Norman knew about greenfield sites because he had built supermarkets on them.

When Iain Duncan Smith became leader, Mr Norman said he did not intend to remain in the shadow cabinet.

He helped fellow moderniser Francis Maude to establish two think tanks, C-Change and the Policy Exchange.

The MP is currently chairman of telecoms business Energis and is a senior adviser to Lazard.

At last year's Tory conference, he warned the party was in a "pretty parlous state" and radical organisational changes were needed to stop further decay.