Tory defector will not defend seat

Shaun Woodward is married to Camilla Sainsbury

MP Shaun Woodward, who defected from the Tories to join Labour, will not be defending his seat at the next general election.

In a statement he said that he would not be asking the constituency Labour Party in Witney, Oxfordshire, to consider him when they come to choose their candidate in the new year.

Mr Woodward held Witney for the Conservatives at the last general election with a majority of 7,028 and was thought to stand little chance of retaining it next time around if he stood for Labour.

His decision now not to put his name forward will spark speculation that he is hopeful of finding a winable Labour seat in time for the general election, which is widely expected in April or May.

'Unhappy episode'

In his statement he said: "It is not my intention to put my name forward for the Witney parliamentary seat when the Witney Constituency Labour Party begins the process in the new year."

Sources close to the MP insisted that while Mr Woodward was determined to remain active in the Labour Party, he had not made up his mind whether he wanted to try to return to Westminster.

The Tories' prospective parliamentary candidate for Witney, David Cameron, said: "The whole Shaun Woodward episode has been an unhappy one for the people of Witney.

"The sooner we can have a general election and give people in Witney a proper choice about their MP, the better."

'Rising star'

Mr Woodward defected to Labour saying he found himself unable to back Conservative policies on Europe, the party's pledge to reduce taxes year-on-year and its opposition to Labour's pledge to scrap Section 28.

Married into the Sainsbury family he seemed - until he jumped ship - to have impeccable Conservative credentials.

Aged 41, he was born in Bristol and graduated with a double first from Cambridge University.

He worked at the BBC from 1982-1990 as a researcher and producer on current affairs programmes and Esther Rantzen's That's Life, before moving into politics in 1991 as a communications chief for the Conservative Party.

During the 1992 election he worked as media guru for then party chairman Chris Patten, specialising in television and advertising. The surprise Conservative election victory he helped mastermind led him to be tipped as a rising star within the Tory party.

Rapidly promoted

He first entered parliament in 1997 as MP for Witney, one of the safest seats in the country, and was rapidly promoted to become shadow minister for London.

However, his liberal views brought him into conflict with Conservative leader William Hague and, as one of the few surviving one nation Tories on the front bench, he was uneasy with Mr Hague's drive to take the party to the right.

In the 1997 leadership campaign he first backed Stephen Dorrell, then Kenneth Clarke, and in 1998 he was one of only 18 Tory MP's to vote in favour of lowering the age of consent for gays to age 16.

Mr Woodward is married to supermarket heiress Camilla Sainsbury, daughter of Sir Tim Sainsbury.