Mapped: All the MPs standing down at the next election

More than 100 MPs have decided to quit ahead of the next general election

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has has become the latest Tory MP to announce that he will stand down at the next election, saying it was the “right time” for him to “look for some new challenges”.

Mr Heaton-Harris said on X it had been an “honour and a privilege to serve” and passed on his thanks to his constituents in 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 Daventry MP was first elected to Parliament 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.

View more

Mr Heaton-Harris, who would have been defending a majority of 37,055 had he stood again in the Daventry constituency, joins a growing number of Conservative MPs deciding to quit politics, including several other high-profile ex-cabinet ministers.

As of 19 May, 65 Conservative MPs have said publicly they were either standing down from parliament or not contesting their seat at the general election.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has announced he will not seek re-election (Lucy North/PA) (PA Wire)

Former prime minister Theresa May announced in March she would not stand again, becoming the most high-profile departing MP since Boris Johnson resigned after being found guilty of misleading MPs over the Partygate scandal.

Nadhim Zahawi, the former chancellor education secretary and Conservative Party chairman, also stood down earlier this month, saying the time is right for a “new, energetic Conservative to take over”.

Alok Sharma, the former Cop26 president, has also announced he would stand down at the next general election, saying it had been the “honour” of his life to have served as an MP.

Former PM Theresa May announced in March that she would stand down (Hannah McKay/PA) (PA Wire)

Mr Sharma, who represents Reading West, previously held the business secretary brief.

Sajid Javid, the former chancellor, Dominic Raab, the ex-deputy prime minister and Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary - all of whom were at one time touted as potential future Tory leaders - were among the other big-name Conservatives who have called it a day as their party struggles in the polls.

Mr Sharma and Mr Raab, who resigned from his cabinet position following a slew of bullying allegations which he denied, would have been defending majorities of fewer than 5,000 had they stayed on to fight the next election.

Most MPs walking away from politics are Conservatives, which is unsurprising given they are the biggest party, winning 365 seats in the 2019 election.

According to the Institute for Government, the 2010 election saw more than 100 MPs stand down, mainly from the Labour Party, which had been in power since 1997.

Sajid Javid is among the high profile figures stepping down (REUTERS)

Some MPs also announced they were standing down after the expenses scandal the same year.

Of all the 102 MPs standing down ahead of the next national poll, 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 Labour MPs standing down.

The Conservative Party is on course for a heavy defeat at the next election, according to most opinion polls.