Keighley MP Kris Hopkins has resigned as a member of Bradford Council.

The Conservative politician this week stepped down after 12 years representing the Worth Valley Ward.

Mr Hopkins had resigned as council leader after winning the Keighley and Ilkley seat at the General Election last May.

He thanked council officers and fellow councillors for the help he received, as well as residents of the Worth Valley.

Since being elected to the council in 1998, Mr Hopkins has held several portfolios on its ruling executive, including social services, housing and corporate affairs.

He became deputy leader in 2004 and two years later became leader of both Bradford Council and the Conservative group.

He has also served on several regional bodies covering housing, regeneration, international development and local government.

Mr Hopkins said: “I am particularly proud to be leaving at a time when responsibility for education is set to return to the council and am glad to have played a key role in bringing this about.

“I will continue to do all I can to maintain the progress we have made in ensuring our children are given the opportunity to fulfil their true potential in the classroom.

“I feel immensely privileged to have worked alongside some incredibly professional individuals down the years and while neither they nor I got it right every time, we always had the best interests of the district’s residents at heart.

“I must also pay tribute to my friends and colleagues, both in the Conservative group and in the other parties, for the work they do on behalf of the district and to wish them well in the future.

“Finally, but most importantly, I would like to thank the residents of the Worth Valley for allowing me to serve them on the council for the last 12 years. I now look forward to representing them, together with my constituents in the rest of Keighley and Ilkley, in the House of Commons for what I hope will be many years to come.”

The council hopes by the end of this week to set a date for a by-election to choose Mr Hopkins’s successor in Worth Valley Ward.