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Wales’ health secretary has announced he will not be seeking re-election at next year’s Senedd election.

Jeremy Miles, the Labour MS for Neath, stood in his party’s leadership election last year, but was defeated by Vaughan Gething.

During his time in the Senedd, he has held a number of Welsh Government cabinet positions, overseeing key areas including education, economy, and since last year, health.

In a letter to his local Labour Party branch secretaries, which he published on Facebook, Mr Miles described his time in the Welsh Parliament as “the honour of my life”.

He said: “Being in frontline politics as a Member of the Senedd, and as a cabinet member for most of the last decade, is all-consuming and rightly takes precedence over so much else in life.”

Over the summer recess, he explained, he had “come to the conclusion that the end of this Senedd term is the right time for me to stand down, to seek a different challenge – one which may allow me more time to better balance work with my commitments to the people in my life.”

Mr Miles admitted it had not been an “easy decision”, but thanked party members for their “truly unwavering support”.

Mr Miles joins a long list of Labour MSs who have confirmed they will not seek re-election next May.

These include former First Ministers Mark Drakeford and Vaughan Gething, and Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney MS Dawn Bowden – the current minister for children and social care.

Other figures not standing next year are economy secretary Rebecca Evans, social justice secretary Jane Hutt, and counsel general Julie James.

Former ministers Julie Morgan, Lee Waters, John Griffiths, Lesley Griffiths, and Mick Antoniw are also stepping aside, as are backbenchers Joyce Watson and Jenny Rathbone.