Wallace’s Announcement

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace announced in an interview published on Saturday that he will step down due to the upcoming cabinet reshuffle and will not run in the next general election.

Wallace played a prominent role in the Western Allies’ efforts to support Ukraine against Russia, and the UK offered him to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). But he did not receive strong US support for taking office, and Stoltenberg’s term at the head of the coalition was extended.

The Sunday Times quoted Wallace as saying, “I will not run (for parliament) in the next election.”

The newspaper reported that Wallace told Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last month of his intention not to stand in the general election later next year.

But he will not leave parliament “early” to avoid by-elections, but will leave the post of defense minister during the next cabinet reshuffle, which is expected before September, he says in an interview with The Sunday Times.

Ben Wallace, 53, said the decision not to run was not due to his belief that the Conservative Party would lose to the Labor Party, which leads the polls, but rather because his constituency in northwest England was annulled. in line with recent changes in the definition of districts.

Wallace, a former British Army officer, has been a Member of Parliament for 18 years and is the longest-serving Conservative Secretary of Defense since the late Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Wallace’s Political Journey

He is the only senior minister to survive the prime minister’s tumultuous transition from his political ally Boris Johnson to Liz Terrace and then to Rishi Sunak.

He served as secretary of security under Theresa May before becoming secretary of defense in 2019.

Wallace enjoys strong support from members of the Conservative Party and has long been the party’s leader candidate, but has never run for office.

“Difficult situation”

Ben Wallace said in an interview with the newspaper that among his accomplishments is a £24bn ($31bn) increase in the defense budget, given that increases in defense spending will be needed in the coming years.

He predicted that by the end of the decade the world would become “more dangerous and insecure”.

He added: “I think we will be in conflict. Whether it’s cold or hot, I think we’ll be in a difficult situation.”

The British Defense Secretary did not rule out that the UK could be drawn into a conflict in Africa against extremist groups, and expressed concern about the impact of Chinese expansion in the South China Sea on regional politics and nuclear proliferation.

As for Ukraine, he said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, if he loses the war, could look for new targets, such as submarine cables that secure Western communications and power supplies.