Tory MPs 'bewildered' and set to stand down as Sunak calls election
Former minister Rory Stewart says Conservative some MPs have been left bewildered by Sunak's decision to call a July election.
A "remarkable" number of Tory MPs are unlikely to stand for re-election in the forthcoming general election announced suddenly by Rishi Sunak on Wednesday, a former minister has said.
Speaking on the The Rest Is Politics podcast that he hosts with Alastair Campbell, former Conservative MP Rory Stewart said he expected a flurry of announcements from former colleagues saying they would step down.
His comments come after Rishi Sunak announced a general election will take place on 4 July, sending shockwaves through Westminster and his own party.
Stewart said he had received a number of texts and Whatsapps from former colleagues – including cabinet ministers as well as backbenchers – voicing their bewilderment at the prime minister's decision to call an election, and their plans to leave.
"I think very few of them will stay," he said. "Including some who haven't yet announced they're leaving will leave. Honestly the response from most of them is total bewilderment."
He cited one message he had received, that said: "I have literally no idea why he's doing it any more than I have any idea why he's standing in the rain with his musical background" - a reference to the fact D.Ream's Things Can Only Get Better, played to signify Labour's 1997 election victory, could be heard in the background as Sunak made his announcement.
Stewart said he had talked to "veteran MPs" who had served for 15-20 years who had put forward various hypotheses for why the PM had decided to call an election now, but said: "A very remarkable number are leaving and they're all totally thrown off balance and astonished."
One theory is that Sunak had been under pressure from many of his own MPs to call an election because they are "exhausted" and "don't want to be in parliament anymore", Stewart added.
🗣️ @RoryStewartUK : "Have you got any idea why he (Sunak) is doing this?"
Rory's former colleagues are speculating as to why an election has been called.... pic.twitter.com/sBuezjcdC2— The Rest Is Politics (@RestIsPolitics) May 22, 2024
Here are the MPs who have already announced they are standing down, according to the government website (as of 20 May, 2024):
Conservative MPs
Douglas Ross, Moray
Sir Charles Walker, Broxbourne
Mike Penning, Hemel Hempstead
Adam Afriyie, Windsor
Andrew Percy, Brigg and Goole
Chloe Smith, Nortwich North
William Wragg, Hazel Grove
Dehenna Davison, Bishop Auckland
Sir Gary Streeter, South West Devon
Sajid Javid, Bromsgrove
Mark Pawsey, Rugby
George Eustice, Camborne and Redruth
Edward Timpson, Eddisbury
Jo Gideon, Stoke-on-Trent Central
Stephen McPartland
Sir Paul Beresford, Mole Valley
Robin Walker, Worcester
Sir Graham Brady, Altrincham an Sale West
Pauline Latham, Mid Derbyshire
Gordon Henderson, Sittingbourne an Sheppey
Craig Whittaker, Calder Valley
Nicola Richards, West Bromwich East
Henry Smith, Crawley
John Howell, Henley
Sir Robert Goodwill, Scarborough and Whitby
Jonathan Djanogly, Huntingdon
Dr Matthew Offord, Hendon
Alister Jack, Dumfries and Galloway
Richard Bacon, South Norfolk
Dominic Raab, Esher and Walton
Philip Dunne, Ludlow
Andy Carter, Warrington South
Royston Smith, Southampton, Itchen
Will Quince, Colchester
Sir William Cash, Stone
Lucy Allan, Telford
Steve Brine, Winchester
Sir Greg Knight, East Yorkshire
Chris Clarkson, Heywood and Middleton
Ben Wallace, Wyre and Preston North
Trudy Harrison, Copeland
Stuart Andrew, Pudsey
Stephen Hammond, Wimbledon
David Jones, Clwyd West
Sir Alok Sharma, Reading West
Chris Grayling, Epsom and Ewell
Jamie Wallis, Bridgend
John Baron, Basildon and Billericay
Nick Gibb, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
Sir James Duddridge, Rochford and Southend East
Oliver Heald, North East Hertfordshire
Mike Freer, Finchley and Golders Green
Sir Robert Neill, Bromley and Chislehurst
Kwasi Kwartend, Spelthorne
Nickie Aiken, Cities of London and Westminster
Lisa Cameron, East Kilbridge, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
Tracey Courch, Chatham and Aylesford
Dr Kieran Mullan, Crewe and Nantwich
Paul Scully, Sutton and Cheam
Theresa May, Maidenhead
Brandon Lewis, Great Yarmouth
Jams Heappey, Wells
Robert Halfon, Harlow
Tim Loughton, East Worthing and Shoreham
Nadhim Zahawi, Stratford-on-Avon
Chris Heaton-Harris, Daventry
Huw Merriman, Bexhill & Battle
Jo Churchill, Bury St Edmunds
James Grundy, Leigh
Eleanor Laing, Epping Forest
Michael Ellis, Northampton North
Labour MPs
Alex Cunningham, Stockton North
Dame Margaret Hodge, Barking
Barry Sheerman, Huddersfield
Harriet Harman, Camberwell and Peckham
Dr Alan Whitehead, Southampton Test
Ben Bradshaw, Exeter
Wayne David, Caerphilly
Paul Blomfield, Sheffield Central
Dame Rosie Winterton, Doncaster Central
Margaret Beckett, Derby South
John Cruddas, Dagenham and Rainham
Colleen Fletcher, Coventry North East
Margaret Greenwood, Wirral West
George Howarth, Knosley
Karen Buck, Westminster North
Christina Rees, Neath
Ian Mearns, Gateshead
Dr Dan Poulter, Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
Natalie Elphicke, Dover
Holly Lynch, Halifax
Kevan Jones, North Durham
Yvonne Fovargue, Makerfield
Green Party MPs
Caroline Lucas, Brighton Pavilion
Independent MPs
Crispin Blunt, Reigate
Matt Hancock, West Suffolk
Julian Knight, Solihull
Conor McGinn, St Helens North
Bob Stewart, Beckenham
Nick Brown, Newcastle upon Tyne East
Mark Menzies, Fylde
SNP MPs
Ian Blackford, Ross, Skye and Lochaber
Peter Grant, Glenrothes and Central Fife
Angela Crawley, Lanark and Hamilton East
Douglas Chapman, Dunfermline and West Fife
Stewart Hosie, Dundee East
Mhairi Black, Paisley and Renfrewshire South
John McNally, Falkirk
Philippa Whitford, Central Ayrshire
Patrick Grady, Glasgow North
Sinn Fein MPs
Francie Molloy, Mid Ulster
Mickey Brady, Newry and Armagh
Plaid Cymru MPs
Hywel Williams, Arfon
