David Cameron Says He Won't Quit Parliament In 2020

Cameron Says He Won't Quit Parliament In 2020
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Prime Minister David Cameron speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, London.
PA/PA Wire

David Cameron has said he will seek re-election to parliament at the next general election despite plans to stand down as prime minister before 2020.

"I love being MP for Witney and I’m very keen to continue, but right now I’ve got to focus on this important referendum," he said this morning. "I draw huge strength from being a Member of Parliament in Oxfordshire."

He told BBC Radio Oxfordshire it was "very much my intention" to carry on as an MP after 2020 even though he will have left No.10.

Cameron will stand down as prime minister at some point before the next election. However he has said he will not quit Downing Street immediately this year if he loses the EU referendum.

Tony Blair quit parliament after stepping down as prime minister. However Gordon Brown returned to the backbenches after his 2010 election defeat and only left parliament last year.

Margaret Thatcher remained an MP for two years after stepping down as prime minister and was made a member of the House of Lords in 1992. And John Major stayed in the Commons until 2001, despite having been kicked out of Downing Street by Tony Blair in 1997.

Cameron took the unusual step of announcing he would not seek a third term as prime minister during an interview with the BBC shortly before last year's general election.