Following Jeremy Browne’s announcement of his intention to stand down as Taunton Deane’s Liberal Democrat MP at the next election, I released the following statement to the Somerset County Gazette:

"I am sure that everyone in Taunton Deane will wish Jeremy well in whatever he decides to do with his future career and thank him for the work that he has done on behalf of constituents over the last nine years.

I will continue to work hard to earn the support of my fellow local residents to succeed Jeremy at the next election as an effective and accountable local MP for Taunton Deane.

There is an enormous amount of work that needs to be done to secure Taunton's future, particularly improving our transport infrastructure, bringing in more investment and jobs and enhancing our local services. Plus of course by electing a Conservative MP in Taunton Deane we will be voting to keep Ed Miliband out of Downing Street."