Rail
minister
Huw
Merriman,
who
represented
Bexhill
&
Battle
as
its
MP
for
nine
years,
will
not
be
standing
in
the
forthcoming
election.
He
will
leave
the
government
on
4
July.

A
lawyer
by
profession,
he
was
first
elected
as
an
MP
in
2015.
In
the
2019
election
he
gained
a
majority
of
26,059,
the
equivalent
of
63.6
per
cent
of
the
vote
–
compared
with
62
per
cent
at
the
previous
election.

As
a
back
bencher,
he
chaired
the
Transport
Select
Committee
between
January
2020
and
October
2022,
when
he
was
appointed
to
his
first
ministerial
post
within
the
Department
for
Transport,
as
Minister
of
State
responsible
for
railways
and
HS2.
He
has
remained
in
that
post
since
then.

He
said:
‘I
have
loved
being
an
MP
and
I
leave
with
a
heavy
heart.

‘The
constituency
is
a
beautiful
place,
with
wonderful
people
in
every
town
and
village.
And
I’ve
been
lucky
enough
to
work
across
the
community,
and
political
divide,
with
some
fantastic
people.’

He
added
that
Rishi
Sunak
would
always
have
his
‘full
support’,
and
concluded:
‘To
both
the
next
MP
for
Bexhill
and
Battle
and
to
a
future
Rail
Minister
–
if
these
roles
bring
even
half
the
amount
of
happiness
as
they
have
brought
me,
then
it
will
make
you
very
proud.’