North East Bedfordshire MP Alistair Burt gets the Conservative whip back - but will still not stand for re-election

Alistair Burt has been re-admitted to the Conservative ranks in Parliament, but still intends ending his time as an MP in December.
Alistair Burt MPAlistair Burt MP
Alistair Burt MP

And it is still undecided who the party will put up for election in his constituency.

The North East Bedfordshire MP was first elected to Parliament in 1983, and has held a number of roles across government during his decades in politics.

However after rebelling against the government over Brexit in September he was stripped of the party whip - meaning that, although he was still a Conservative Party member, he was not part of the party ranks in Parliament.

Restoring the whip would have meant Mr Burt could stand for election as a Conservative if he had wanted. However Mr Burt has stuck to his decision to step down from frontline politics, as reported by the Times & Citizen in September. However it is understood that he does not plan to retire altogether.

Despite a general election being due on December 12 the local Conservative Party have yet to select their candidate. A decision by local party bosses is expected in the coming days.

The Tory nomination for North East Bedfordshire is likely to be hotly sought after by would-be MPs, as Mr Burt won 60.9 per cent of the vote in 2017. The constituency was only created after boundary changes ahead of the 1997 election, and has been held by Conservative MPs throughout its entire existence.