Jo Churchill first Tory MP to stand down since election announcement

Jo Churchill becomes the 66th Conservative MP to confirm they will leave the Commons

The employment minister has become the first Tory MP to announce they are standing down since Rishi Sunak called the election as the party braces for an avalanche of resignations.

Jo Churchill, who has represented Bury St Edmunds since 2015, cited family reasons as she revealed on Thursday that she would not contest the next general election.

She becomes the 66th Conservative MP to confirm they will leave the Commons following the next national poll amid fears of an exodus in the parliamentary party.

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 a letter to the Prime Minister dated April 26, 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.

Jo Churchill (centre) became Rishi Sunak's employment minister as part of his reshuffle last November - Mike Kemp

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”.

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