The UK Labour Party’s deputy leader is stepping down as a Member of Parliament.

Tom Watson, who has served in the House of Commons since 2001, will not stand in the upcoming general election.

He was elected the party’s deputy leader four years ago.

In a letter to party leader Jeremy Corbyn, he said it had been an immense honour to serve his constituents.

"But now is the right time for me to stand down from national politics,” he said.

“The disagreements we have had inside the party are well-known; now is not the time to rehearse them again.”

After 35 years in full-time politics, I've decided to step down and will be campaigning to overcome the Tory-fuelled public health crisis. I'm as committed to Labour as ever. I will spend this election fighting for brilliant Labour candidates and a better future for our country. pic.twitter.com/qGqiKTJ6br

— Tom Watson (@tom_watson) November 6, 2019

Mr Watson has found himself at odds with other members of the party on a number of occasions in recent months and has repeatedly clashed with Mr Corbyn over the party’s Brexit policy.

The division came to a head in September, when the party’s ruling body considered abolishing the post of deputy leader.

Mr Watson later said he was only made aware of the move by text while eating dinner in a Manchester restaurant.

He used to letter to insist that his decision to step aside was “personal, not political.”

He thanked Mr Corbyn for the “decency and courtesy you have shown me over the years, even in difficult times.”

“Our many shared interests are less well known than our political differences, but I will continue to devote myself to the things we often talk about: gambling reform, music and arts, stopping press intrusion, obesity and public health and of course horticulture and cycling,” he said.

Mr Watson will continue as the party’s deputy leader until the General election of December 12th.