London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

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

0:00
0:00
Close
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×