Esther McVey stands down as chair of BTPA

The chair of the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) has stepped down from her role after being chosen as a candidate in the upcoming General Election. Esther McVey has been chair of the BTPA since November 2015, after she lost her Parliamentary seat in Wirral West earlier that year. Current deputy chair Mark Phillips will be fulfilling the duties of the chair until a permanent replacement can be appointed. He has been a member of the BTPA since September 2013, and has experience working for British Rail, Railtrack and National Express. Mr Phillips is also chief executive of the Rail Safety and Standards Board. The Cheshire constituency was previously held by former chancellor George Osborne, who is leaving Parliament “for now” as he focuses on his new job as editor of the Evening Standard. Mr Osborne congratulated Ms McVey on Twitter, saying: “Huge congratulations to @EstherMcVey1, new Tatton PPC. A real star. I couldn`t have a better successor. A one-woman Northern Powerhouse.” He held the seat with a majority of more than 18,000. Ms McVey was formally selected as the Conservative Party candidate for the Tatton constituency on April 26.