The former chancellor Sajid Javid has become the latest Conservative MP to announce he will not stand again at the next election, joining a growing exodus of high-profile members of the party. Javid announced on Friday he had decided to stand down at the next election, which is likely to be held in 2024, after wrestling with the decision “for some time”. He is the latest and most senior Tory MP to decide not to stand for re-election, days before the deadline for all members to say whether they will stand again. Polls show the party would be resoundingly defeated if the election were held now. Other young and high-profile Tories to have announced they will not stand again include Dehenna Davison, Chloe Smith and William Wragg. Javid’s announcement came hours after the party lost the Chester byelection, in which Labour recorded its largest ever vote share in the seat.
In a letter to Paul Uppal, the chair of his local Conservative association, Javid wrote: “While that election is not required to be held for two more years, the Conservative party has asked MPs to confirm their intentions at this early stage to enable preparations for the campaign, especially in light of various boundary changes. This has accelerated my decision-making.” He added: “It has been a decision I have wrestled with for some time, but I have ultimately concluded not to stand again for what would be my fifth election.” One source familiar with the discussions confirmed Javid had held discussions about a return to the world of finance, having spoken to the investment manager Pimco about his career after politics. One of those with whom Javid has spoken is Andrew Balls, the company’s chief investment officer and brother of the former Labour frontbencher Ed Balls, the person added. The Financial Times was the first to reveal those discussions. Javid did not respond to a request for comment. Many in parliament expect the list of departing Tory MPs to grow over the weekend as members decide to stand down rather than fight and lose an election. By doing so, however, they could forfeit loss of office payments for sitting MPs who lose their seats, which can run to tens of thousands of pounds. Speaking on Friday to BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme, the Conservative MP Alicia Kearns said she believed many MPs on both sides of the house would choose to stand down after a turbulent few years in politics.
“In 2017, lots of MPs said, ‘Do you know what, I was about to resign, but I’ll stay a bit longer.’ The same thing happened in 2019,” she said. “So I think we’ll actually see quite a significant change to the makeup of parliament following the next election.” Responding to Javid’s announcement, the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said he was “sad to see my good friend stepping back from politics … May the Force be with you, Saj.”
Javid entered the Commons in 2010 after a successful 18-year career in the City, where he worked for Deutsche Bank. The son of a bus driver and one of the party’s few MPs from a Muslim background, he quickly made a name for himself in parliament as someone who could communicate effectively with diverse groups of voters. He became home secretary in 2018 and ran unsuccessfully for the leadership of the party a year later after the resignation of Theresa May as prime minister. He was appointed chancellor by the eventual winner, Boris Johnson, but resigned within weeks after clashing with the prime ministerial adviser Dominic Cummings. Javid returned to the frontbenches as health secretary during the Covid pandemic, and helped to spark Johnson’s downfall when he resigned amid allegations of sexual assault against the party’s deputy chief whip Chris Pincher.