London Daily

Focus on the big picture.

Tory MPs weigh up prospect of another five years in Parliament

Tory MPs weigh up prospect of another five years in Parliament

The Conservative party has asked all of its MPs to say by 5 December if they are planning to stand again at the next election.
While former PMs Boris Johnson and Liz Truss have indicated they'll contest their seats at the next election, the deadline has led to a number of Tory MPs going public to say they won't - including a few surprising names.

It's led to speculation that the party is facing an exodus.

A Conservative party source claimed the significance of the resignations was being "overhyped by the media".

So how does it stack up?

So far, 14 Conservative MPs have said they won't stand out of 357.

That compares with 12 for Labour, which has 195 MPs. The party has not given Labour MPs a deadline to say whether they are planning to stand down.

There are, though, some clear differences between the parties.

Most of the Labour MPs who've already said they're going are older, with five of them over the age of 70.

In the last few days, several younger Conservatives have also said they are quitting including Sajid Javid, who's 53; Chloe Smith, who's 40; William Wragg, who's 34 and Dehenna Davison, who's 29.

They are all MPs who would still be expected to have a decent political future in Parliament.

Many of them have given personal reasons for leaving the Commons.

Ms Davison, who became one of the party's rising stars after winning the former Labour seat of Bishop Auckland in 2019, said she hadn't "had anything like a normal life for a 20-something".

Others have said the job is becoming harder; Sir Charles Walker, who is stepping down at the next election, said the political environment had become "toxic".

A Conservative MP elected in 2010, who is standing again, said he sympathised with those who weren't as the job had changed in the last decade and, while a privilege, was "exhausting".

The former Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg told BBC Radio 4's World at One that too many conclusions were being drawn from a "still relatively small number of resignations" and suggested turnover would be a good thing.

"You don't want to have a whole cadre of professional politicians who get in at 20 and remain until they're 80. That would be a very, difficult form of politics that I don't think the country would like," he said.

It's still very likely that more MPs will follow their colleagues out of the door after this week.

In 2019, 74 MPs stepped down from across the Commons.

The December date is not a hard and fast deadline which would commit Tory MPs to going through with standing again.

At least one MP who is expected not to run again at the next election hasn't told the party yet.

With polls where they are, it's quite difficult to find a Conservative MP who is optimistic about the Tories' chances of winning the next election.

That's been leading some to consider if they would want to return in opposition, even if they think they will hold their seat.

John Strafford, chairman of the Campaign for Conservative Democracy, also suggested MPs were having to deal with party members who were angry and demoralised.

"I think everybody now realises that the party is going to lose the next general election," he said.

"It is, in my view, going to be a pretty severe loss."

Add into to all of that the fact that the next election will be fought on new boundaries, some of which will mean MPs having to establish themselves in new areas.

The numbers may not quite count as an exodus yet but there is certainly a real threat that one could develop.
Newsletter

Related Articles

London Daily
0:00
0:00
Close
IT'S HAPPENING: Absolutely massive protest in Brazil today for free speech, against their corrupt Supreme Court judge
Huawei Poised for Major AI Chip Unveil at Shenzhen Event
CIA and MI6 Chiefs Unite Amid Global Crises
UK Tycoon Mike Lynch's Cause of Death Revealed: Autopsy Report
Mass Protests Erupt Across France Against New Prime Minister Barnier
Iranian Plots to Kill Jews in Europe Unveiled
Nvidia’s AI chips are cheaper to rent in China than US
China ends tariffs on all goods exported to China from the poorest countries in the world it has diplomatic ties with, including 33 African nations
Blinken May Not Seek Another Term Due To Family Priorities
Labour Pushes for Special Tribunal Against Russia for Ukraine Invasion
Oil Companies to Contest Judicial Review of North Sea Projects
Ed Balls Urges Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves to Address Winter Fuel Payments Controversy
British Army Major General Dismissed for Unwanted Advances
Campaigners Urge Bold Actions to Combat Rising Heart Disease in UK
UK Requires One Trillion Pounds Investment for Economic Growth
Plan to House Asylum Seekers at Former Dambusters Home Dropped
UK Drops Indecent Assault Charges Against Harvey Weinstein
Return of Brazilian Artworks to Bahia
UK Signs Landmark International AI Treaty
Demand for Justice After Death of Ugandan Runner Set on Fire
Ukraine's Major Government Reshuffle: Andrii Sybiha Appointed New Foreign Minister
North Korea Executes Officials Over Flood Response
French Woman Testifies in Landmark Rape Trial
Sicily Yacht Disaster: Fatal Asphyxiation Claimed More Lives
Michel Barnier Appointed as Prime Minister of France
The art technique of Grandma Mei Ling, age 82
Mongolia Refuses to Arrest Putin Despite ICC Warrant
UK State Pension to Increase by Over £400 Annually
Amazon Announces 10% Pay Increase for UK Workers
Grenfell Tower Fire Inquiry Demands Swift Justice
French Police Clear Migrant Camp Near Calais
New Law Proposes Jail Time for Covering Up Sewage Dumping in England and Wales
John Swinney's Government Programme Faces Criticism in Scotland
France Pilots Mobile Phone Ban in Schools
Priti Patel Eliminated in First Round of Tory Leadership Race
And Justice for ALL: Elon Musk threatens to go after Brazilian government assets
WHO-Led Study Finds No Link Between Mobile Phones and Brain Cancer
US Charges Hamas Leaders With Terrorism Over October 7 Attack on Israel
Russian Missile Strike Kills 49 in Poltava, Ukraine
Major Cabinet Resignations in Ukraine
Tory Leadership Candidates Criticize Rivals' Promises to Leave ECHR
Campaigners Propose Pay-Per-Mile Charge for UK Electric Cars
Labour Urged to Shift Asylum Policy Rhetoric
Hossein Shamkhani: The Rise of an Oil Tycoon
Putin Defies ICC Arrest Warrant with Mongolia Visit
Frenchman On Trial for Decade-long Abuse of Drugged Wife
The British bus driver explains to usual suspects that they cannot travel without a ticket. Education is important.
Irish Police Arrest Enoch Burke, the teacher who refuses to endorse and affirm transgender ideology
US Soldier Attacked in Turkey
Switzerland Urged to Reconsider Its 500-Year Neutrality
×