LONGSTANDING backbencher Paul Flynn announced today he will step down from Parliament.

Mr Flynn, who has not spoken in the House of Commons since the beginning of this year after his rheumatoid arthritis worsened, has said that his failing health means that he intends to stand down “as soon as possible.”

The Newport West MP, who was first elected in 1987, has long been considered an outspoken maverick, backing Ken Livingstone over Frank Dobson as Labour’s candidate for London mayor in 2000 as well as being a fierce critic of the so-called “war on terror,” a consistent opponent of the Iraq war and a principled republican who called for the abolition of the British monarchy.

He also defended leader Jeremy Corbyn during the 2016 coup attempt and briefly served as shadow Commons leader in his shadow cabinet.

Welsh Assembly member Alun Davies said that Mr Flynn “has been a strong radical and reforming voice in our party and in Parliament.”

Mr Flynn said that he would quit sooner rather than later, but “by-elections are expensive and disruptive and I’ve got my staff.”