“Can no longer do justice to role” as General Election approaches
Sir Charles Walker, MP, is a lifelong angler.
Sir Charles Walker MP is to step down as Chair of the Angling Trust due to the pressure of work in Parliament. Charles, who represents Broxbourne in Hertfordshire for the Conservatives, is a lifelong angler, took over from the Trust’s outgoing Chair, George Stephenson, in September 2022, after announcing he was to retire from Parliament at the next general election.
However, he feels he can no longer do justice to his role within the Trust while sitting as a serving MP in the current ‘febrile’ political climate which will only become more intense as the General Election approaches. Last October, he was appointed to serve on the House of Commons Standards and Privileges Committee, which polices the conduct of MPs, in addition to his roles as Chairman of the Administration Committee and as a Commissioner of the House of Commons Commission. He also chairs the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Angling and Chalkstreams and has served on the 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs.
He said: ” …with an increased workload in the Commons and a hard-fought general election looming in a politically febrile atmosphere I have come to the conclusion that I simply cannot spare the time to do justice to the role of Chair of the Angling Trust on top of everything else.”
However, this doesn’t mean he will be without influence on angling matters: “Where I can, I will do my best to ensure that fish and fishing are championed in Parliament”he said, and he will continue as Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Angling and on Chalkstreams and intends to “remain fully engaged in the Trust’s campaigns to protect access for anglers and creating marine sport fisheries.”
Angling Trust CEO Jamie Cook described Sir Charles as “without question, the most passionate supporter of angling in Parliament” adding that, in 2020, he had been instrumental in helping anglers persuade ministers to allow fishing to continue during the various Covid lockdowns, when other sports remained banned.
“As our Chair, he has helped us overturn angling restrictions on places like the Attenborough Nature Reserve, and move forward with exciting proposals for a recreational tuna fishery”, he added.
Fish Legal Chair George Graham commented: “Anglers have for many years been lucky to benefit from Charles’s support in Parliament. In his time as our Chair he has continued that work, helping us to navigate a path through some thorny issues that threatened our sport”.