New blow for Sunak as sitting cabinet minister says he will not stand at election

Rishi Sunak has suffered another blow after a sitting cabinet minister announced he will not be standing at the next general election.

Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said it had been an “honour and a privilege to serve” as he became the 65th Conservative MP to say they are leaving parliament.

His decision, as the MP for a seat with a majority of 26,000, will do little to dispel Tory fears over their chances at the election.

His announcement came just hours after another soon-to-depart MP, former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, suggested that Tory MPs should not have been “spooked” into ousting Boris Johnson.

Mr Heaton-Harris’s move means he joins a Tory exodus that includes former PM Theresa May, ex-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, and former defence secretary Ben Wallace.

Mr Sunak has also suffered the shock defections of Conservative MPs Natalie Elphicke and Dan Poulter to Labour in recent weeks.

In a letter announcing his decision, Mr Heaton-Harris thanked his constituents in Daventry in Northamptonshire and Mr Sunak as well as former prime ministers Mr Johnson and Liz Truss.

He added that he would continue to campaign for the Conservatives as the “only party that has and can deliver for the whole of the United Kingdom”.

First elected as an MP in 2010, the fierce Eurosceptic was appointed Tory chief whip under Mr Johnson.

Later that year, Ms Truss made him secretary of state for Northern Ireland, a role he kept when Mr Sunak took over as prime minister.

At the time, the Stormont power-sharing institutions had collapsed because of a DUP protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.

The Stormont executive returned in February this year in the wake of the establishment of the Windsor Framework. In his resignation letter to the prime minister, Mr Heaton-Harris said that the framework had “both solved many of the major practical issues created by the Northern Ireland protocol, put in place as we left the EU, and helped reset our countries’ relationship with our European neighbours”.

He added: “I strongly believe the conditions now exist for Northern Ireland to thrive, with privileged access for manufactured goods into the EU single market while being an integral part of our UK internal market and being able to benefit from the international trade deals we negotiate; it finds itself in a remarkabl[y] favourable position – and as Northern Ireland thrives, our union will strengthen.”

Mr Heaton-Harris continued: “I know we are not far from a general election, an election in which I will do everything I can to see you returned as prime minister. I would be honoured if you allowed me to continue as secretary of state for Northern Ireland until that time.

“There are a still a number of pieces of unfinished business I wish to complete and I love the people, place and job, but obviously would understand if you feel it best to replace me.”

Mr Zahawi, who played a key role in persuading Mr Johnson to stand down, said “I wish we had held our nerve” in regard to the former prime minister.

He told The Sunday Times that Mr Johnson, who quit after a series of scandals, had been the most “consequential” leader since Margaret Thatcher.

Mr Zahawi was made chancellor in July 2022 by Mr Johnson in the wake of Mr Sunak and dozens of other ministers leaving his government.

Two days later, Mr Zahawi publicly called for Mr Johnson to stand down, having privately told him “the herd is stampeding” and that unless he resigned “they are going to drag your carcass out of this place”.