Old guard changing

Another of the old-guard Green MPs, Sue Kedgley, is considering stepping down at next year's election.

Asked yesterday if she intended to retire from politics, she said she was yet to decide. "It's a possibility, but I haven't made up my mind yet."

She will make a final decision by the end of the year, before the list rankings and candidate selection process begin.

Ms Kedgley would not discuss what factors would affect her decision, but said there were personal and political considerations any MP looked at when deciding whether to stand again.

Ms Kedgley has made her name as an MP as a formidable campaigner on consumer issues, especially food safety and better food labelling.

If she left, Keith Locke would be the only remaining MP of the Green Party intake in 1999, when it gained seven seats in its first election as a party in its own right.

Mr Locke said he had not thought about his own future. "At the moment, I'm plugging on trying to be a good MP. I can think about that in the future."

The other 1999 MPs were Jeanette Fitzsimons, Rod Donald, Ian Ewen-Street, Sue Bradford and Nandor Tanczos.