Rushen MHK Laurence Skelly has announced he won’t seek re-election to the House of Keys in September.

But he has officially thrown his hat into the ring for the position of Tynwald president.

In a statement confirming that he won’t be standing again in this year’s general election, Mr Skelly said: ’Many of my supporters are aware that I never intended to be a career politician.’

First elected to the Keys in 2011, he has been Minister for the Department for Enterprise (formerly the Department for Economic Development since 2014).

He was once tipped to be a possible Chief Minister but his political reputation was damaged over the Vision Nine affair. A 10-year deal to appoint Vision Nine as a private promoter partner for the TT was approved by Tynwald in April 2016.

But just seven months later, and after £350,000 spent on consultancy fees, the Council of Ministers pulled the plug following legal advice of the acting Attorney General.

In his statement, Mr Skelly said he had initially stood as he had wanted to help guide the island through difficult economic times following the VAT bombshell and the 2008 financial crash.

Announcing his intention to stand for Tynwald president, he said: ’Since deciding not to seek re-election as MHK, several members have approached me and asked that I stand for president.

’I have agreed to put my name forward in July. If unsuccessful, I shall return to the private sector.’

Speaker Juan Watterson has already thrown his hat into the ring for the Tynwald presidency, saying there is no one else with any presiding officer experience to do the job.

Mr Skelly said being a national politician is ’rewarding and challenging in equal measure’.

He said it had been a privilege to be part of CoMin and Tynwald in dealing with the ’extraordinary and relentless challenge’ of the pandemic, which he said had been navigated ’as well as can be expected under the circumstances’.