Nadhim Zahawi to stand down at general election in new blow to Rishi Sunak's Tories

Senior Tory Nadhim Zahawi is to stand down at the general election, he announced on Thursday in a new blow to the Tories.

The ex-Chancellor put on Twitter: “With the exception of convincing my wife to marry me, it has been the greatest honour of my life to represent the people of Stratford-on-Avon and serve as a Minister of the Crown.

“But after 14 years in Parliament and multiple roles in Cabinet and Government, I have come to the decision not to stand again at the next general election.”

Mr Zahawi, MP for Stratford-on-Avon, won praise for his role as vaccines minister during the Covid pandemic.

But he was sacked as Tory Party chairman last January, after an inquiry by the Prime Minister's ethics adviser found he had failed to disclose that HMRC was investigating his tax affairs.

He was Chancellor between 5 July 2022 and 6 September 2022, having been appointed to the post by Boris Johnson but then calling for him to quit at PM as the latter was engulfed in the partygate scandal.

In his letter announcing that he would be standing down, he explained: “Every morning as I shave my head in the mirror, I have to pinch myself.

“How is it that a boy from Baghdad who came to these shores, fleeing persecution and unable to speak a word of English, was able to do as much as I have?

“For all our challenges, this is the best country on Earth, and it helped me make by British dream come true.”

He told how he was a key player in setting up the YouGov polling company before becoming an MP in 2010.

He continued: "But as my most famous constituent once wrote: 'Go to your bosom; knock there and ask your heart what it doth know'.

"I have come to feel that the time is right for a new, energetic Conservative to fight for the honour of representing Stratford-on-Avon and assuming the mantle of MP for Shakespeare.

"I will, of course, serve my constituents with dedication and determination until then, and the Prime Minister, and the Conservative Party, will continue to have my unswerving support into and beyond the next general election."

Mr Zahawi’s announcement came just a day after Dover MP Natalie Elphicke defected from the Tories to Labour, following former health minister Dan Poulter also switching to Sir Keir Starmer’s party.

The Tories also lost nearly 500 seats at the May 2 local elections, the West Midlands mayoralty, the Blackpool South by-election, and Tory candidate Susan Hall was heavily defeated by Sadiq Khan in London in the contest for City Hall.

More than 60 MPs elected as Conservatives in 2019 have already said they will not stand at the next election, widely expected to be in the autumn.

They include a string of former Cabinet ministers including ex-Prime Minister Theresa May (Maidenhead), former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng (Spelthorne), former-Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (Esher and Walton) and ex-Home Secretary Sir Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove).

Other senior Tories who held Cabinet posts going include ex-Defence Secretary Ben Wallace (Wyre and Preston North), ex-Health Secretary Matt Hancock (West Suffolk), ex-Transport Secretary Chris Grayling (Epsom and Ewell), ex-Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth), ex-Environment Secretary George Eustice (Camborne and Redruth) and ex-Scotland Secretary with Alister Jack (Dumfries and Galloway).