Sajid Javid has become the latest Conservative MP to signal that they will be standing down at the next election. Announcing the news in a letter to his party chairman posted on social media, the former chancellor said the current boundary review deadline – which has seen MPs asked to signal by 5 December whether they want to stand again – had ‘accelerated’ his decision, which he’d come to ‘after much reflection’.
Javid says it is a decision he has ‘wrestled with for some time’. But the timing of it – with 11 other Tory MPs set to step down at the next election – means that it will inevitably be seen as part of a bigger narrative of Tory decay as the party trails behind Labour in the polls. The Chester by-election result – which saw Labour comfortably hold the seat and increase the majority – is just another reminder of the tricky state the Conservatives are now in.
However, in Javid’s case there are a number of factors at hand. He has more cabinet experience than most – serving as chancellor, home secretary, health secretary and business secretary among other roles. He also ran to be Tory leader not one but three times. It means that contemporaries of Javid believe he was considering how long to stay in the Commons for some time – given his depth of experience. Notably, both Liz Truss and then Rishi Sunak did not offer him a prime cabinet role. He is young enough, at 52, to seek a new career in business.
So, how will Javid spend the rest of his time in the Commons? Given all the experience he has, Javid is well placed to make important – if politically tricky – interventions on the areas he knows well such as the NHS. He has never been viewed as a tricky rebel – more a team player. But Javid could still use his final days to make a mark.
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