ALAN Milburn, MP for Darlington, this morning announced that he will not be standing at the next general election.

Mr Milburn, who became health secretary under Tony Blair, made the surprise announcement to his local party in the town this morning.

In a statement, Mr Milburn, 51, insisted he had been considering the decision for a long time and wanted to pursue other challenges.

He said: "I left frontline ministerial politics, and have not wished to return, because I wanted to have a different way of life.

"I have never regretted doing so. At the next election I will be in my early 50s.

"Standing down as an MP will give me the chance to balance my work and my family life with the time to pursue challenges other than politics."

Mr Milburn, from Tow Law, County Durham, went to Lancaster University before he returned to the North-East.

He was elected as chairman of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central Constituency Labour Party, appointed as a business development Officer for North Tyneside Borough Council and elected as President of the North East Region of the Manufacturing Science and Finance (MSF) Trade Union.

He was elected as Darlington MP in 1992 when he defeated sitting Conservative Michael Fallon.

He was a staunch Blairite. He served Mr Blair's cabinet as chief secretary to the treasury from 1998 to 1999 and as health secretary from 1999 to 2003.

He retired from the cabinet citing family reasons and sat on the backbenches. He returned to the cabinet in 2004 as chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and played a role in the 2005 general election campaign.

He stood down from the cabinet for a second time following Labour's victory.

A rumoured leadership challenge in 2007 following Mr Blair's decision to step down as Prime Minister never materialised and Gordon Brown stood unopposed.

Mr Milburn added: "I am very proud to have served as Darlington's MP since 1992. That feels like a long time in modern politics.

"I decided to make this announcement now, before the summer, so that Darlington Labour Party has ample time to choose a new candidate for the next election."

Under Commons reforms, from July 1 all MPs will have to declare how much they are paid for outside jobs and how many hours they spend on them.

Mr Milburn is expected to be one of the highest earners in the Labour Party when the figures emerge. He works for a number of firms including Lloyds Pharmacy and PepsiCo.