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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Jitendra Joshi

Migraine-hit MP Dehenna Davison steps down as Levelling Up minister

Red Wall MP Dehenna Davison announced on Monday that she was resigning as a minister in the Levelling Up department after battling with debilitating migraines.

The 30-year-old, who became Bishop Auckland’s first Conservative MP in 2019, was seen as a rising star in the Tory party but has already announced she intends to quit the House of Commons at the next election to rediscover a life outside politics.

“Unfortunately, for some time now I have been battling with chronic migraine, which has had a great impact on my ability to carry out the role,” she wrote in her resignation letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

“Some days I’m fine, but on others it is difficult, if not impossible, to keep up with the demands of ministerial life - and the timing of such days is never predictable.”

Brought into government a year ago by Liz Truss, Ms Davison was kept on in the role under Mr Sunak when he took over as PM, and her prospects in the party had seemed high. But she is one of more than 50 Tory MPs stepping down with Labour riding high in the polls heading into the next election.

Redcar MP Jacob Young will replace Ms Davison in the Levelling Up department, Downing Street said.

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