Conservative MP Craig McKinlay, who lost both his arms and legs after suffering from life-threatening sepsis, will not seek re-election.
The South Thanet MP finally returned to Parliament on 22 May, the day before the election was called, after eight months of recuperation.
McKinlay said he came to the decision after “36 hours of intense soul-searching.”
He becomes the 117th member of parliament to resign ahead of a general election.
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“With so much unresolved business, including redevelopment and national issues that are important to me, my heart is telling me to rise again, but my head knows that’s not possible at this time,” McInally said in a social media post.
McInally developed sepsis in September last year, which caused her limbs to “blacken” and be amputated, meaning she had to learn to walk again with prosthetic limbs.
Speaking to the BBC ahead of his return, the MP said he wanted to be known as the first “bionic MP” – the first to have prosthetic legs and arms.
When he returned to Parliament, his fellow lawmakers gave him a standing ovation.
Mr McInally told the BBC that his ordeal had made him “realise what’s important is family, friends and children”.
His wife, Kati, a pharmacist, realised her husband was critically ill and played a key role in securing medical care.
His five-year-old daughter Olivia nicknamed one of his prosthetic legs Albert, after the dummy used by prisoners of war in the 1950s film “Albert RN.”
- Before entering Parliament, McKinley worked as a chartered accountant.
- He was originally a member of the pro-Brexit UK Independence Party, but was elected Conservative MP for South Thanet in 2015.
- He then led the Net Zero Watchdog group, which campaigned to move away from net zero policy and increase UK oil and gas production in order to lower energy costs.
- Before Chancellor Rishi Sunak called the election, Mr McKinlay had said he would stand in the Kent constituency, which is due to be renamed Thanet East, at the next election.
The sudden election campaign means it’s “difficult to endure the rigors of the total war I have always wanted to lead from the front”, he added.
“If I’m re-elected, I’m going to have a hard time maintaining the 70- to 80-hour work week that was the norm before I got sick,” McInally said.
As my capabilities improved, I hoped to return to the House of Representatives gradually over the coming months.
“I have to undergo multiple surgeries in the future due to the severe sepsis I suffered which almost took my life. I have just started to be fitted with prosthetics and am undergoing weekly physiotherapy and occupational therapy.”
“To be elected to Congress is one of life’s rare privileges.”
Conservative MP Steve Baker called Mr McKinlay an “absolute hero”.
A visibly shaken Mr Baker told BBC2’s Politics Live that Mr McKinley had “been through absolute hell”.
“I’ll freely admit that I was very touched to have him back in Congress and I was happy to be there to hear what he had to say,” Baker added.
Sepsis is a rare but serious illness that occurs when the body’s immune system overreacts to an infection and begins attacking the body’s own tissues and organs.
Symptoms include severe shortness of breath and slurred speech.
If not treated early, sepsis can progress to septic shock and cause organ failure.
