London: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's call for early general elections on July 4 has led to a political shake-up with at least 78 Conservative Members of Parliament announcing their decision not to stand for re-election.
Cabinet ministers Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom became the latest Tory frontliners to announce their decision. In a letter shared on social media, Housing Minister Gove acknowledged the pressures of political life and the need for new leadership. “We are volunteers who willingly choose our fate. And the chance to serve is wonderful. But there comes a moment when you know that it is time to leave. That a new generation should lead,” he wrote.
“After careful reflection, I have decided not to stand as a candidate in the forthcoming election,” Leadsom wrote in her letter addressed to Sunak. The Guardian newspaper said citing sources that Sunak is taking the “unusual step” of a day away from public events over the first weekend of the election campaign and instead will spend it in discussion on election strategy with his closest advisers.
