Janice R. Andrews
In one of the biggest exits from Parliament since Boris Johnson resigned over the Partygate affair, former prime minister Theresa May announced she will not be running in the next general election. May, who spent more than 27 years as the MP for Maidenhead, described the choice as “challenging” in a message to the Maidenhead Advertiser, her hometown newspaper.
May’s exit coincides with a growing number of Conservative Members of Parliament choosing to resign from office. Among those announcing their plans to step down are Sajid Javid, the former health secretary, and Alok Sharma, the former president of Cop26. Among the prominent Conservatives quitting politics are former cabinet ministers Dominic Raab and Ben Wallace.
There is a clear pattern of Conservative MPs quitting: out of 96 MPs, 59 of them are Conservatives, and they have resigned ahead of the planned national referendum. But it’s not just the Conservatives doing this; Labour MPs like Margaret Beckett and Harriet Harman are also quitting.
There will be a large turnover in the SNP, with about one-fifth of their MPs stepping down. This occurs in the midst of a more competitive election in Scotland, as Labour is overtaking the long-reigning SNP.
According to surveys, Labour is leading the Conservative Party in the polls and the Conservative Party is expected to lose badly in the upcoming election. The way politics are developing points to an important change in the makeup of Parliament in the next election.
