Former farming Minister Sir Jim Paice has announced his intention to step down from party politics after serving his current term as MP for South East Cambridgeshire.

image expired

Conservative MP Paice said on Friday that he will not contest the seat, which he has held for almost 30 years, at the next election. He served as Minister for agriculture from May 2010 until September 2012, when he was replaced by Liberal Democrat David Heath in a cabinet reshuffle.

Explaining his decision, the former minister said on Friday, "It has been an incredibly exciting and rewarding life, but if I go on I am committing myself into my 70s which I do not believe would be right."

Last week it was announced that Paice had been appointed to the board of the National Institute of Agricultural Botany.