AFTER 20 years as Truro and St Austell MP, Mathew Taylor has announced he is standing down at the next election to spend more time with his family.

On the eve of his 20th anniversary Matthew Taylor announced on Wednesday that, after two decades in the Truro & St Austell seat, he will not be fighting the next General Election.

Mr Taylor has announced that he will be standing down in order to devote himself to his family, following the birth of his son Arthur last November.

"This has been a very tough decision for me. For the past twenty years I have given my all to Truro & St Austell, and Cornwall as a whole. Elected at just 24 I had no family and could afford to do so - a typical working week in my case of about 80 hours. I never like to do things by half measures, and I think I have been able to achieve a lot for Cornwall as a result.

"But I have always said to my close friends that it would not have been possible to work as hard with a family - not the way I want to be a father. When Arthur was born in November, Vicky and I knew that for now we can travel the 560 mile round trip from Cornwall to London together - but once he starts school that won't be possible. I don't want to be a Dad who is away from home four nights a week.

"Over and over again MP's tell me how hard it is on them, their wife, and their children, to be away so much, but they put their career first. For me, I have had 20 years in Parliament, now I want to put Vicky and Arthur first "I have relished the chance to help literally thousands and thousands of local people as their MP. I have greatly enjoyed the successes I have had helping get a better deal for Cornwall and my constituency - and having a very strong voice in national politics too.

"I have been a part of some fantastic achievements, including getting the A30 finally sorted out at Goss Moor, the new colleges for Truro and St. Austell, plus backing the campaign for Objective One funding and the Eden project, which are slowly helping rebuild our economy. As an MP I have also been instrumental in securing new and improved school buildings in most communities in the constituency. On top of all of this the biggest achievements have always actually been the smallest ones, the individual problems I have sorted out for so many constituents with their pensions, benefits, housing, community facilities, and so much else.

"Of course, I will still be an MP for the next year or two until the General Election, and as long as I am I will continue to work flat out. I am currently working on a major report on the housing crisis in Cornwall, campaigning for a public inquiry into plans for a giant incinerator at St Dennis, encouraging plans to make Cornwall the greenest place in the UK - and conducting an analysis of the shortfalls in Government funding for Cornish services, like schools, police and the NHS.

"Most of all I would like to thank the voters who gave me the opportunity to fight these battles. Once I am gone, there will be two new MPs to represent the area, Liberal Democrats I hope and expect. I hope that whoever takes on the mantle from me will love Cornwall as much as I do and will enjoy representing the county and its people as much as I have'"