Steve Baker has spoken out about losing his seat to Labour and claims he is glad he is no longer an MP.
The "Brexit hardman" who spearheaded the campaign to leave the European Union said goodbye to his parliamentary career after he lost his Wycombe seat to Labour, which is the first time the party has been elected to represent the Buckinghamshire area in over seven decades. Speaking to the BBC about his defeat, he said "thank God I'm free" and explained that among the positives of being an MP, there was a lot of abuse that he wouldn't miss about being a politician.
The former Northern Ireland Minister said his house is now "like Fort Knox" and added: “I will not be coming back, you can have that as an exclusive."
Although Mr Baker was earlier hopeful about his future with the market town, he has already planned a set of action-packed activities that he would like to do in the aftermath of his defeat. According to the i newspaper, he wants to try “skydiving, motorcycling, fast catamaran sailing”.
Just last week, Mr Baker spoke about his ambitions to take over as the leader of the Conservative Party and said: “One thing at a time. I want to represent the people of Wycombe the best that I can, as I always have done. Then let’s see what happens.” He was further asked about his remarks on Sky News’ Politics Hub on Monday and said that he "wouldn't rule it out".
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He said at the time: “The reality is that my colleagues have sent for me before the referendum, after the referendum, during Covid and over net zero. And on all four occasions, I’ve led actual MPs to a great degree of success – and I wouldn’t mind the chance to do it again”.
Despite his positive outlook on his future, Mr Baker said he was also aware that he was “widely expected” to lose his seat which he gained in 2010. He was able to keep his seat in the 2019 general election, with a small majority of 4,214. He also said there was “no space for Nigel Farage in the Conservative Party”.
“A person who has deliberately set out to destroy the Conservative Party cannot subsequently be welcomed into it,” he told Sky News. "Unfortunately, his parties attract a number of people who I would absolutely not allow in the Conservative Party.”