The Tory exodus from Westminster continued last night as Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris announced he will not stand at the next general election.
Heaton-Harris, who has served in the role since September 2022, put his plans to paper in a letter to beleagured Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
In the letter, the Daventry MP wrote: "Working with you I helped negotiate and deliver the Windsor Framework, which both solved many of the major practical issues created by the Northern Ireland Protocol, put in place as we left the EU, and helped reset our countries' relationship with our European neighbours.
"Then, after long and detailed negotiations within Northern Ireland, we produced the command paper Safeguarding the Union, which resulted in the return of Stormont and devolved government to serve the people of Northern Ireland.
Chris Heaton-Harris, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, during a press conference at NIO offices
PA
"I strongly believe the conditions now exist for Northern Ireland to thrive, with privileged access for manufactured goods into the EU single market, whilst being an integral part of our UK internal market and being able to benefit from the international trade deals we negotiate."
Heaton-Harris, who describes himself as a "fierce Eurosceptic" and chaired the Brexit-backing European Research Group during the 2016 referendum, added: "It [Northern Ireland] finds itself in a remarkable favourable position - and as Northern Ireland thrives, our union will strengthen."
The 56-year-old thanked the people of Daventry and the leaders he served under, including Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
Despite announcing his plan to step down, Heaton-Harris vowed to campaign for Rishi Sunak in the upcoming general election campaign.
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Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, First Minister Michelle O'Neill, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Stormont Castle
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Heaton-Harris, who was returned with a majority of 26,080 in 2019, joins a growing list of predominantly Tory MPs standing down at the general election.
A total of 65 Conservative MPs have now already confirmed they do not intend to contest their seats when the country goes to the polls.
Ex-Prime Minister Theresa May, former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and ex-Justice Secretary Dominic Raab are among the high-profile Tories calling time on their political careers.
A further 19 Labour MPs will also step down, including bigwigs Harriet Harman and Margaret Beckett.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris attending the three-day international conference at Queen's University Belfast
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Despite significant attention being paid to a number of announcements, the number of MPs standing down remains lower than compared to 2010.
Almost 150 MPs stood down ahead of Gordon Brown's defeat, including a staggering 100 Labour MPs.
However, there is growing concern within CCHQ that the number of Tory MPs stepping down could soon teeter towards triple-digits.
The last possible day for a general election is January 28 next year.
