Nadhim Zahawi will stand down as Stratford-on-Avon MP at the next election

Long-serving Tory MP and former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is set to stand down as MP for Stratford-on-Avon at the next general election. Mr Zahawi posted a letter on his Twitter account this morning saying “the time is right” for someone else to represent the constituency.

He added: “Of course I will serve my constituents with dedication and determination until then, and the Prime Minister and the Conservative Party will continue to have my unwavering support in and beyond the next general election.”

There has been much speculation about when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will call the election after a tough result for the Conservative Party in last week’s local elections. It is due to take place anytime before January next year.

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Mr Zahawi has been MP for Stratford since 2010. He joined Theresa May’s government in 2018 as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families in the 2018 reshuffle, moving to a similar role in the Business and Industry office under Boris Johnson.

In 2021 he was promoted to Cabinet Secretary of State for Education and became Chancellor of the Exchequer after Rishi Sunak resigned in 2022. But 48 hours later he withdrew his support for the Prime Minister since Boris Johnson, who resigned. shortly thereafter.

Mr Zahawi was briefly a candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party, but continued to support Liz Truss, who appointed him chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, minister for intergovernmental relations and minister for equalities.

Under Rishi Sunak he served as Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio until he was sacked for breaching the Ministerial Code.

Mr Zahawi was born in Iraq and came to Britain as a child and referred to this in his resignation letter, saying: “How is it that a boy from Baghdad who came to these shores fleeing persecution and unable to speak a word of English, could you do as much as I have? For all our challenges, this is the best country on Earth and it has helped me make my British dream a reality.”

He added that representing Stratford-on-Avon was “the greatest honor of my life”.

You can read his resignation letter in full on his Twitter account.

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