Andrew Tyrie, longstanding chair of the influential Treasury select committee, has announced he is ending his 20-year political career and will stand down as an MP at the general election, in a move which has taken Westminster by surprise
In a statement to his constituency, Tyrie said: ‘It has been an exhilarating 20 years. I have done what I can to make a contribution, particularly in efforts to improve banking standards and to shape a more trusted and resilient financial sector after the crisis of 2008.
‘I have also sought to play a part in reviving Parliament’s relevance, not least by making the case for select committee chairmen to be elected by their fellow MPs. Stronger committees now demand better explanations for the decisions made by ministers, regulators, and quangos than hitherto.’
Tyrie became chair of the cross-party Treasury committee after the 2010 election, and has been at the forefront of evidence sessions on a number of high profile inquiries, including banking standards, the UK’s future economic relationship with the EU, Budget scrutiny, the Financial Conduct Authority, and the UK tax policy and tax base.
Prior to becoming MP for Chichester in 1997, Tyrie was a senior economist at the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. He had previously worked as an advisor to successive Chancellors of the Exchequer, Nigel Lawson and John Major.
Between 2003 and 2005, Tyrie was shadow financial secretary and shadow paymaster general, and as well as his role on the Treasury committee, in 2012 he also chaired a new Parliamentary commission on banking standards, set up in response to the Libor rate-fixing scandal.
Tyrie’s successor will be decided after the election. Members of the commons vote for committee chairs, and the Treasury committee is always led by a government MP.
Labour MP Iain Wright, chair of the business select committee which savaged Sir Philip Green over the sale of BHS, has also announced he is leaving Parliament. Wright worked as an accountant with Deloitte for six years before being elected in 2004.
Fellow Conservative MP, Gillian Keegan took over Tyrie's Chichester seat in the 2017 general election with a 60% majority. Keegan in particulary interested in improving career oppurtunities for school leavers after starting work as an apprentice herself.
