Former MP for Cambridge Julian Huppert  has announced that he will not be re-standing for election.

After running an election campaign which focused on greener transport, school funding, improvement of local housing, and tackling climate change issues in June’s election, Huppert lost for the second time in a row to Daniel Zeichner, the Labour MP who reclaimed his seat with 12,661 votes.

While Huppert found favour in Cambridge through his ‘internationalist’ politics, supporting the EU in a largely pro-Remain constituency, he has also been supportive of scientific development and called for greater government commitment to cycling.

Huppert studied at Trinity College as both an undergraduate and a PhD student, before becoming a fellow at Clare College in Biological Chemistry. In addition to this, in 2016, Huppert was appointed Founder Director of the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College, and holds other roles locally, including involvement in the local NHS.

Huppert, who was MP for Cambridge from 2010 to 2015, said of his decision to step down: “It has been a huge honour and privilege to represent my hometown, serving for 8 years as a Councillor, and then 5 as our MP. I'm proud of what I managed to achieve for Cambridge, particularly supporting sustainable transport and affordable housing, and helping many local residents with a wide variety of problems. Nationally, I will always be pleased to have fought for civil liberties, social justice, the environment, and for us to be an internationalist country.”

Elizabeth Parkin, who serves as Chair of Cambridge Liberal Democrats, said: “Julian was an outstanding MP for Cambridge and we are very proud of how he stood up for our city and of what he contributed to national politics.”

Huppert has made it clear that he intends to continue to oppose Brexit and champion Lib Dem policies. The party expects the selection process for the new candidate to finish before Christmas