New Essex MP says Rishi Sunak should 'suffer the pain of being opposition leader and not resign'

A newly-elected MP in Essex has called for Rishi Sunak to stay as leader of the Conservative Party and "suffer the pain of being opposition leader". Sir Bernard Jenkin was re-elected to serve the Harwich and North Essex constituency after a close battle with Labour.

Just over 1,000 votes separated the two candidates in the end in a tight election that pollsters predicted could fall in the favour of Labour. It was a devastating night for the Tories as the political map in Essex was redrawn in several areas.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was elected in Clacton whilst Colchester decided to elect their first-ever female MP in the form of Labour's Pam Cox. Keir Starmer's party also achieved significant gains in Southend West & Leigh, Southend East and Rochford and in Harlow too.

Read more: Recap of all the Essex General Election results of 2024 as they happened

Read more: Nigel Farage claims Clacton win is 'not a protest vote'

Sir Bernard, who has served the constituency since 2010 and has been an Essex MP since 1992, said Rishi Sunak should not resign as leader despite the party suffering heavy losses nationally and conceding Downing Street to the Labour Party. Instead he has called for the outgoing Prime Minister to "suffer the pain of being opposition leader" and work to reunite the party.

After being elected, he said: "I'm against blaming people [including Mr Sunak]. I want everyone to write down who they blame on a piece of paper, screw it up and throw it in the bin. Let's look at the lessons we need to learn.

"I'm sure Rishi's learned some horrible lessons from the campaign. We should all learn from that. The business of changing our leader while in Government is a very painful and risky business.

"To have done it twice really shook the confidence of the public. The second choice was obviously a bad mistake and we've paid the price for that."

He added: "It's 100% important to find the right leader but before that we need to get the reflection and learning done. We need to re-join the bits of our party together again before choosing a new leader.

"We should not be plunging into a new leadership election. I hope Rishi Sunak will suffer the pain of being the leader of the opposition and not resigning as leader of the Tories for many months before we trigger a leadership election."

However, Mr Sunak resigned as Conservative leader on Friday morning (July 5). He said he would not leave his role immediately but would do so once a Tory leadership race begins. He said: I would like to say, first and foremost, I am sorry. I have given this job my all.

"But you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change. And yours is the only judgement that matters.

"I have heard your anger, your disappointment and I take responsibility for this loss. I am honoured to have been your prime minister, this is the best country in the world."