Halfon resigns as minister, quoting Gandalf
Essex MP says ‘my time is over’ as he becomes 63rd Tory to stand down at the general election
TWO ministers announced their resignation yesterday in a double blow for Rishi Sunak.
Robert Halfon, the skills minister, quit his post and announced that he would stand down as an MP at the general election. His resignation came on the same day that James Heappey served his last day as Armed Forces minister, having also said he is standing down as an MP.
Mr Halfon, the Tory MP for Harlow in Essex, became the 63rd Conservative to announce that they plan to quit Parliament.
In a letter to his local Tory association, he explained his decision to stand down as an MP by quoting Gandalf from JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
“As I move towards stepping down at the general election, I am reminded of what Gandalf said to Frodo Baggins after the defeat of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings,” he wrote. “I am with you at present… but soon I shall not be. I am not coming to the Shire … My time is over: it is no longer my task to set things to rights, nor to help folk to do so. And as for you, my dear friends, you will need no help… among the great you are, and I have no longer any fear at all for any of you.
“Although I often feel more like Bilbo Baggins than Gandalf, I believe these words have great resonance, and perfectly capture my feelings as I move on to my next journey in life.”
In a letter to the Prime Minister, he praised Mr Sunak and said he would “wholeheartedly support” his government from the backbenches. Mr Halfon wrote: “After well over two decades as the Harlow Parliamentary Candidate and as MP, I feel that it is time for me to step down at the forthcoming general election, and in doing so, to resign as a minister.
“I believe that across the country, there is quiet admiration for your work ethic, integrity and ability to solve complex problems faced by our country.”
In a letter of reply the Prime Minister said he was “very sorry” at Mr Halfon’s decision to quit and praised his record as an MP and minister.
“I appreciate that your decision will not have been an easy one to make, but I respect your reasons for doing so,” Mr Sunak wrote.
Mr Halfon’s resignation will further add to the sense of doom and gloom around the Tories amid talk that many of its MPS have already given up.
The record number of Conservatives who have stood down from Parliament in a single term is 75, which was set in the run-up to Labour’s 1997 landslide.
It is expected the party will exceed that tally under Mr Sunak, with some insiders fearing the number quitting the Commons could hit three figures.
Mr Halfon is the latest in a long line of experienced ministers and former ministers to announce they are stepping away from politics altogether. First elected in 2010, he served as the deputy chairman of the Tories from May 2015 to July 2016. Mr Sunak made him skills minister when he entered No10 in October 2022.
Mr Heappey is understood to have decided to stand down now so that he will be clear to take a new job outside politics after the election.
His position has been filled by Leo Docherty, who was previously the Europe minister.
Luke Hall, a deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, has been drafted in to replace Mr Halfon at the Department for Education.