By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
Gloucestershire County Council’s bus and education chief Philip Robinson will not be standing for re-election in May.
The former head of maths at St Mary’s Roman Catholic High School in Lugwardine near Hereford was first elected to Gloucestershire County Council in 2021.
Shortly after being voted in to represent Mitcheldean at Shire Hall the Conservative spoke of how he “became an accidental politician after a life in aeronautical engineering, becoming a monk and later a maths teacher”.
During his time at Shire Hall he has overseen the introduction and rollout of bookable bus service the Robin and supported improvements such as the Daffodil line which connects Newent with Ledbury and Ross.
In recent times he has taken a step back from his cabinet duties and has been officially on leave of absence to deal with “several personal issues”.
But now he has revealed that he decided “some months ago” not to stand for re-election in May.
He says he’d “rather like to have his life back”.
“Since I was elected in May 2021, I’ve oscillated back and forth on whether I really wanted to serve a second term of office,” Cllr Robinson said.
“In the end I’ve decided I’d rather like to have my life back! I’ve put too many of my other interests on hold for far too long.
“It’s been a wonderful four years though and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. It’s easily been the most interesting thing I’ve ever done.
“I’m hugely proud of what this Conservative administration has achieved for the people of Gloucestershire, and I’ll always be grateful to Mark Hawthorne who back in 2021 offered me, then a rookie councillor, a role in his Cabinet.
“And, of course, I’m especially proud of what we’ve achieved in education and transport, the core areas of my cabinet portfolio. But now, a summer of fly-fishing and test cricket beckons.”