Fifth Tory MP stands down after election announcement

Five Tory MPs have announced their departures from political life the day after Rishi Sunak called an election as the party braced for an avalanche of resignations.

Sir Michael Ellis, MP for Northampton North, Huw Merriman, a transport minister, James Grundy, a Red Wall MP who entered Parliament in 2019, Dame Eleanor Laing, a Deputy Speaker of the Commons, and Jo Churchill, the employment minister, revealed on Thursday they would not contest the next election.

Dame Eleanor, the MP for Epping Forest, and Ms Churchill, who represents Bury & St Edmunds, became the 66th and 67th Conservative MPs to confirm they will leave the Commons following the next national poll amid fears of an exodus in the parliamentary party.

Mr Grundy, who represented Leigh, then announced he would not contest the new Leigh and Atherton seat, before Mr Merriman shared a letter on social media thanking his constituents.

He became the 69th Tory MP to announce they will step down.

Mr Grundy said: “It is fair to say that the last few years have perhaps been the most challenging Parliament since the one that sat during the Second World War.

“There has also been a saddening change in the political climate where increasingly politicians, their families and staff are seen as fair game for abuse, threats of violence or even death threats.

He added: “This is not healthy for our national politics and needs to change, and with that in mind I have decided not to seek re-election.”

Dame Eleanor Laing, a Deputy Speaker of the Commons, and Jo Churchill, the employment minister, also revealed they would not contest the next general election.

Dame Eleanor, the MP for Epping Forest, and Ms Churchill, who represents Bury & St Edmunds, became the 66th and 67th Conservative MPs to confirm they will leave the Commons following the next national poll amid fears of an exodus in the parliamentary party before Mr Grundy, who represented Leigh, announced would not contest the new Leigh and Atherton seat.

An MP since 1997, Dame Eleanor held the role of Deputy Speaker for 11 years, regularly filling in for John Bercow and subsequently Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

Ms Churchill, who represented Bury St Edmunds since the 2015 election, shared a letter she wrote to Rishi Sunak on April 26 in which she assured him of her “constant support” during the campaign and said she had decided not to contest the next national poll for “family reasons”.

More Tories are standing down than at any point since 1997, when 75 stood aside as Labour won a landslide.

It has been suggested in Westminster that many more had originally been intending to stagger their resignations across several months, but Mr Sunak’s decision to hold a snap election means those quitting will have to announce this in the coming days and weeks.

‘Honour of my life’

Ms Churchill has served in a number of frontbench roles since 2019 and became Mr Sunak’s employment minister as part of his reshuffle last November.

In her letter to the Prime Minister she said: “It has been the honour of my life to represent the people of the Bury St Edmunds constituency but for family reasons, I have decided I will not be fighting the next election.”

She said she had taken “much pride in serving in Government”, citing her stint as a public and primary care minister during the Covid pandemic and her role as Vice-Chamberlain during the death and funeral of Elizabeth II.

Ms Churchill added: “My current role as minister for employment, driving jobs and opportunities, is integral to my belief in the conservative values of rewarding hard work, self-responsibility and reaching out to help others…

“Prime Minister, I have the utmost respect for the difficult job that you do in protecting us and assure you of my constant support until the next election.”

Prominent Tories not standing for re-election include Dominic Raab, the former deputy prime minister, Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary, and Sajid Javid.

Last weekend, Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland Secretary, announced he would also quit parliament and asked Mr Sunak if he would be able to remain in his post until polling day.

He also thanked Mr Sunak and former prime ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, vowing to continue to campaign for the Conservatives as the “only party that has and can deliver for the whole of the United Kingdom”.