Nadhim Zahawi has been an MP for the West Midlands town for more than a decade (Picture: Getty Images)
Nadhim Zahawi, a Tory MP who has served in four prime minister’s cabinets including chancellor, will not stand in the next election.
He has represented Stratford-on-Avon since 2010.
‘With the exception of convincing my wife to marry me, it has been the greatest honour of my life to represent the people of Stratford-on-Avon and service as a Minister of the Crown,’ he said in a statement posted on X today.
‘But after 14 years in Parliament and multiple roles in Cabinet and government, I have come to the decision not to stand again in the next general election.
‘Every morning, I shave my head in the mirror, I have to pinch myself. How is it that a boy from Baghdad who came to these shores, fleeing persecution and unable to speak a word of English, was able to do as much as I have?’
He added: ‘Parting is such a sweet sorrow.’
Zahwai has on his parliamentary CV, among other things, chancellor of the Exchequer under Boris Johnson and chairman of the governing Conservatives for Rishi Sunak.
His decision not to stand in the general elections comes after the Conservative Party suffered hundreds of bruising defeats in the local elections.
Widely seen as a barometer for how the Tories will fair in the general elections, Tory councillors, mayors and police commissioners all saw their voters swing to opposition parties last week.
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