Defence minister to step down as MP

Defence minister James Heappey has announced he will step down at the General Election.

In his resignation letter, Heappey said that he wanted to prioritise his family and pursue a different career.

Heappey previously served in the Army and was elected as MP for the Wells Constituency in May 2015.

He was James was appointed Minister for Defence Procurement on 16 December 2019, having previously served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister.

He was appointed as Minister of State (Minister for Armed Forces) at the Ministry of Defence on 7 July 2022.

Heappey is the 62nd Conservative MP to announce he won't be standing in the next election.

In his resignation letter, he said: "In the meantime, I will support Rishi Sunak as our party leader and Prime Minister in Government, until such time as he wishes me to step down and then from the backbencher. My constituents can be assured of my full commitment until the end of this Parliament. Whilst serving in Government is a great privilege for any parliamentarian, the greatest honour of all is to be elected as a Member of Parliament in the first place."

Image: Richard Townshend, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons