'I have loved representing these people': Outgoing veteran MP reveals highlights from 40-year career

First elected to Parliament in 1982 for Northfield, a position which lasted a year, Mr Spellar found his political home in Warley, then Warley West, in 1992. He bows out at this year's General Election as his constituency is chopped, changed and renamed Smethwick.

Under Tony Blair the former union man was entrusted with jobs in the Ministries of Defence, Transport and Northern Ireland. And in 2017 he represented the UK in NATO.

However, speaking hours after he announced on X, formerly Twitter, that he was standing down, the 76-year-old revealed his favourite moments were winning victories for his constituents.

He told the Express & Star: "I have loved representing the people of my constituency, they are great people. And my biggest successes have been helping those constituents who needed help fighting against private and public sector bureaucracies and getting a breakthrough for them.

"It has become harder as the years have gone on, and the introduction of working from home has definitely made it harder dealing with whichever bureaucracy it is."

After announcing his decision to step down, Mr Spellar was inundated with messages of goodwill from far and wide, and those who were familiar friends at his Brandhall Labour Club headquarters.

He said: "As you can imagine my phone is ringing off the hook this afternoon.

"I've had a good run, and just feel the time is right to go. I still hope to play a part in politics in the future. I will be spending the campaign in the constituency helping our new candidate, who will hopefully be in place by the end of the week."

Asked about whether the House of Lords could be his next political stop, he said: "That is not for me to say - we will see what happens in the future."

He said: "I enjoyed working in Government, my time as a defence minister saw me working with some incredibly talented people, and there was Kosovo and Sierra Leone too. I enjoyed my time in the Department of Transport too. I am also proud of helping keep the ongoing peace process in Northern Ireland too."

As a Sandwell MP, Mr Spellar is happy his local authority, Sandwell Council, is no longer seen as the basket case of the Midlands.

He said: "I take great satisfaction that Sandwell Council is finally out of the woods concerning the Government administrators and now has a very capable leadership team."

Despite not standing in the General Election Mr Spellar is looking forward to the cut and thrust of campaigning over the next six weeks.

He said: "I will be spending a lot of the campaign helping the new candidate in Smethwick. It is going to be a long campaign but I think it will be an enjoyable one.

"This is mainly because I feel the public mood is set - from my time on the streets talking to people I think they are ready to get rid of the Tories on July 4."