Skidmore joins growing Tory MP exodus at next election

CHRIS SKIDMORE has become the latest Conservative MP to say he will not stand at the next general election.

The former universities and energy minister, 41, joins a growing list of young, high-profile Tory MPs who will not fight the election amid a slump for the party in the polls.

Speaking exclusively to The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Skidmore said he was not standing because his seat of Kingswood in South Gloucestershire is set to be abolished in the boundary review.

Kingswood, where he was first elected in 2010, is the constituency in which Mr Skidmore grew up. “I don’t want to fight any other seat apart from my home seat,” he said.

Mr Skidmore, who has three children under eight, denied that he was leaving because of the Tories’ bleak electoral outlook, pointing out that he had grown his majority to 11,200 and “potentially had the choice of going elsewhere”.

Instead, he wants his next role to be delivering net zero outside of politics. Mr Skidmore is undertaking a review of the policy for the Government, which he described “as my last big job”.

“This is a moment to look at doing other things,” he said. “One reason why I want to leave politics is to focus on net zero beyond being in the House of Commons, and to probably devote the next part of my career to looking at how to deliver on the energy transition and on ensuring that business and society can deliver on net zero.”

Tory MPs must tell the party by Dec 5 whether they wish to contest the election. Chloe Smith, William Wragg, Sir Gary Streeter and Dehenna Davison have all announced they are leaving.

In total at least 10 MPs have announced their intention to retire from the Commons.

The relative youth of many of those departing – Ms Smith is 40, Mr Wragg is 34 and Ms Davison is 29 – has given rise to suggestions that young Tory MPs see a better future outside of politics.

Some MPs mulling their futures have decided to ignore the December deadline, meaning the damaging stream of departures is likely to continue.

One MP said: “What are they going to do? Put a gun to their heads and say they have to stand?”

Such a trend of departures would cause huge logistical problems because it would stop party officials from getting new candidates established in key marginal seats.