Andrea Leadsom, Sunak critic and former Tory leadership contender, quits politics
Dame Andrea Leadsom has quit frontline politics as she confirmed she would not be standing at the next general election.
Dame Andrea, a former business secretary and Tory leadership contender, served as the MP for South Northamptonshire since her election in 2010.
She became the 78th Conservative MP to stand down ahead of the July 4 general election, a record-breaking total that on Friday surpassed the number of Tories who stepped aside before Sir Tony Blair’s landslide victory in 1997.
Dame Andrea has been a junior health minister in Rishi Sunak’s government but it was claimed that she asked hours after the election was called whether she could submit a letter of no confidence in him.
She declined to comment on the reports, saying that “1922 Committee meetings are private”.
Dame Andrea thanked Mr Sunak on Friday night for his “faith” in her during her time as a health minister and said all babies having the best possible start in life had been her “greatest passion”.
She said: “I will continue to support the Conservative Party through this general election and in the future as the party best aligned with the ideals and values of the people of the United Kingdom.”
Dame Andrea ran for the leadership of the Conservative Party twice, in 2016 and 2019.
During the 2016 contest, a number of her MP supporters including Steve Baker and Tim Loughton memorably marched on Whitehall, chanting: “What do we want? Leadsom for leader! When do we want it? Now!”
Dame Andrea made the final two of the contest but subsequently quit the race amid a public outcry after appearing to suggest that being a mother made her better placed to become prime minister than Theresa May.
She went on to make a personal apology to Mrs May and revealed she had been left “shattered” by the criticism she received.
After relations were repaired between the two, Dame Andrea served as environment secretary and then Leader of the Commons under Mrs May, only to resign in protest against her Brexit strategy in 2020.
She served as business secretary under Boris Johnson between July 2019 and February 2020, when a reshuffle saw her return to the back benches.
Under Mr Sunak, she has been the junior minister for public health, start for life and primary care. Early years and child development have been among Dame Andrea’s foremost passions as a politician, and she led a review that was published in 2021 titled The Best Start for Life: A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days.
