On Tuesday, after much reflection, I made the decision to resign as Conservative Vice Chair and informed the Prime Minister that I could no longer serve under his leadership.
Earlier that day I had attended the funeral of a long-serving former-Councillor in Harpenden. His legacy was cemented in the work he had achieved for his community, but much mention was also made of his deep sense of integrity – and integrity in public officials is valued highly by people in this constituency and the country as a whole.
Integrity matters in politics. Trust matters in politics.
At the start of June, the Prime Minister asked me to give him time to restore trust within the Party and the country. I wanted to give him that time, but recent events have shown that progress was simply not being made in winning back that trust. The Government keeps making the same fundamental mistakes.
Recent events, in relation to the handling of allegations against the former Deputy Chief Whip, and also more broadly, showed that the Prime Minister could no longer hold the support of the Party and the country. I called for him to step down.
You can watch my TalkTV appearance, where I confirmed my resignation on Tuesday evening, in the video.
