Former Milton Keynes MP to sit in the House of Lords

Mark Lancaster is the first MP for Milton Keynes to achieve this honour - and he has promised to do his best for the city.

He said: "Milton Keynes can be assured that I will continue to be a friend and champion for the city in anyway that I can in my future work.”

Mark added: “It’s a huge honour to have been nominated by the Prime Minister to sit in the House of Lords. Milton Keynes has two fantastic MPs in Iain Stewart and Ben Everitt representing it in Parliament.

He was an MP in Milton Keynes for 14 years before he resigned suddenly last November, six week before the general election.

The 50-year-old blamed the "angry" Brexit-dominated political climate and said it had led to him receiving personal abuse and even two death threats.

He said: "This is not the politics we want or need for our great country. It certainly bears no resemblance to the political arena I entered when first elected in 2005. Nor is it the politics of Milton Keynes."

Mark, who was the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, supported the Remain campaign during the Brexit referendum.