NI Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris becomes latest high-profile Tory MP to stand down at next general election
18 May 2024, 23:22
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has announced he will not be standing at the next general election.
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The Tory MP said on X it had been an "honour and a privilege to serve and I'd like to thank the good people of Daventry".
He added that he would be continuing to campaign for the Conservatives as the "only party that has and can deliver for the whole of the United Kingdom".
The Tory MP said on X it had been an "honour and a privilege to serve" and passed on his thanks to his constituents in Daventry.
He also thanked Rishi Sunak as well as former prime ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
He added that he would be continuing to campaign for the Conservatives as the "only party that has and can deliver for the whole of the United Kingdom".
Mr Heaton-Harris was first elected as an MP in 2010. A fierce Eurosceptic, he was appointed Tory chief whip in 2022 by Mr Johnson.
Later that year, Liz Truss appointed him as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, a role he retained when Mr Sunak became Prime Minister.
Mr Heaton-Harris is the recent MP to announce they are standing down - following James Heappey, the current minister for the armed forces, who announced he was not seeking re-election in March.
He joins high-profile names such as Theresa May, Ben Wallace, Sajid Javid, Dominic Raab and Matt Hancock in leaving the Commons.
The 99 departures already make it the highest number of retirements since 2010. The exodus is greater on the Conservative benches, which are on track for their biggest wave of departures since the 1997 Labour landslide.
LBC's political editor Natasha Clark has reported that this is "just the tip of the iceberg" and a staggering 100 Tory MPs are to quit before the election is formally called.
Of all the 99 MPs standing down ahead of the next national poll - which must take place by January 2025 - 64 are Conservatives, according to the House of Commons Library.
Harriet Harman, the former Labour leader, Margaret Beckett, the former foreign secretary, and Ben Bradshaw, the former culture secretary, are among the 17 Labour MPs standing down.
Nine SNP MPs, six independents - including former health secretary Matt Hancock - one Green, one Plaid Cymru and two Sin Feinn MPs have also decided to call it a day.
The SNP will have the highest turnover following the next election. The eight standing down equates to nearly a fifth of the party’s MPs.
Here is the list of departing MPs:
CONSERVATIVES - 64
Adam Afriyie - Windsor
Nickie Aiken - City of London and Westminster
Lucy Allan - Telford
Stuart Andrew - Pudsey
Richard Bacon - South Norfolk
John Baron - Basildon and Billlericay
Paul Beresford - Mole Valley
Graham Brady - Altrincham and Sale west
Steve Brine - Winchester
Lisa Cameron - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
Andy Carter - Warrington South
William Cash - Stone
Chris Clarkson - Heywood and Middleton
Tracey Crouch - Chatham and Aylesford
Dehenna Davison - Bishop Auckland
Jonathan Djanogly - Huntington
James Duddridge - Rochford and Southend East
Phillip Dunne - Ludlow
George Eustice - Camborne and Redruth
Mike Freer - Finchley and Golders Green
Nick Gibb - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
Jo Gideon – Stoke-on-Trent Central
Robert Goodwill – Scarborough
Chris Grayling – Epsom and Ewell
Stephen Hammond – Wimbledon
Trudy Harrison – Copeland
Oliver Heald – North East Hertfordshire
James Heappey – Wells
Chris Heaton-Harris - Daventry
Gordon Henderson – Sittingbourne and Sheppey
John Howell – Henley
Alister Jack – Dumfries and Galloway
Sajid Javid – Bromsgrove
David Jones – Clwyd West
Greg Knight - East Yorkshire
Kwasi Kwarteng - Spelthorne
David Jones – Clwyd West
Brandon Lewis – Great Yarmouth
Theresa May – Maidenhead
Stephen McPartland – Stevenage
Kieran Mullan – Crewe and Nantwich
Bob Neill – Bromley and Chislehurst
Matthew Offord – Hendon
Mark Pawsey – Rugby
Mike Penning – Hemel Hempstead
Andrew Percy – Brigg and Goole
Will Quince – Colchester
Dominic Raab – Esher and Walton
Nicola Richards – West Bromwich East
Douglas Ross – Moray
Paul Scully – Sutton and Cheam
Alok Sharma – Reading West
Chloe Smith – Norwich North
Henry Smith – Crawley
Royston Smith – Southampton Itchen
Gary Streeter – South West Devon
Edward Timpson – Eddisbury
Charles Walker – Broxbourne
Robin Walker – Worcester
Ben Wallace – Wyre and Preston North
Jamie Wallis - Bridgend
Craig Whittaker – Calder Valley
William Wragg – Hazel Grove
Labour - 17
Margaret Beckett - Derby South
Paul Blomfield - Sheffield Central
Ben Bradshaw - Exeter
Karen Buck - Westminster North
Jon Cruddas - Dagenham and Rainham
Alex Cunningham - Stockton North
Wayne David - Caerphilly
Colleen Fletcher - Coventry North East
Margaret Greenwood - Wirral West
Harriet Harman - Camberwell and Peckham
Margaret Hodge - Barking
George Howarth - Knowsley
Ian Mearns - Gateshead
Christina Rees - Neath
Barry Sheerman - Huddersfield
Alan Whitehead - Southampton Test
Rosie Winterton - Doncaster Central
Mark Menzies - Fylde
Scottish National Party - 9
Mhairi Black - Paisley and Renfrewshire South
Ian Blackford - Ross, Skye and Lochaber
Douglas Chapman - Dunfermline and West Fife
Angela Crawley - Lanark and Hamilton East
Patrick Grady - Glasgow North
Peter Grant - Glenrothes
Stewart Hosie - Dundee East
John McNally - Falkirk
Philippa Whitford - Central Ayrshire
INDEPENDENT - 6
Crispin Blunt - Reigate
Nick Brown - Newcastle upon Tyne East
Matt Hancock - West Suffolk
Julian Knight - Solihull
Conor McGinn - St Helens North
Bob Stewart - Beckenham
SINN FEIN - 2
Mickey Brady - Newry and Armagh
Francie Molloy - Mid Ulster
GREEN - 1
Caroline Lucas - Brighton Pavillion
PC - 1
Hywel Williams - Arfon
