Scotland Secretary Alister Jack has confirmed he will not contest the next general election as an MP.
Speculation has been rife that the Tory minister would be offered a peerage as part of Boris Johnson's resignation honours list.
Such a move could have forced a by-election in Jack's Dumfries seat at a time the UK Government's popularity has nosedived.
Jack today confirmed he will not stand again as an MP but was tight-lipped if he would become a peer in the future.
He told ITV Border: "I've been very clear all along that my responsibility is to represent the people of Dumfries and Galloway which is a huge honour and privilege.
"My job as Secretary of State for Scotland is another huge honour and privilege and I intend to continue doing that job until the general election, both those jobs until the general election.
"I'm not going to the House of Lords and causing a by-election."
When asked if he would go to the Lords after standing down, Jack said: "Who knows?"
He added: "I've been very clear that I will not be standing at the next general election."
He said that he had told Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak at each reshuffle that he was standing down at the next election.
Mhairi Black, the SNP's depute leader at Westminster, said: “Alister Jack must come clean on whether he’s done a sleazy backroom deal with Rishi Sunak to delay his peerage in order to avoid another by-election defeat for the Tories.
"The SNP is the main contender in Dumfries and Galloway, and every Tory-held seat in Scotland.
"We are ready to take the fight to the Tories - and challenge Alister Jack to stand down now, so people in Dumfries and Galloway can have an SNP MP that will stand up for their interests, instead of rubber-stamping every damaging decision from Downing Street."
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