Former Cabinet Minister Sajid Javid has said he will stand down at the next election as miserable Conservatives desert the party.
The top Tory, who has twice stood to be party leader, said he would not contest his Bromsgrove seat for the fifth time - despite having a 23,106-vote majority.
He tweeted: "After much reflection I have decided that I will not be standing again at the next General Election.
"Serving as the Member of Parliament for Bromsgrove remains an incredible privilege, and I will continue to support the Government and the causes I believe in."
Rishi Sunak said he is "sad" his "good friend" is planning to step down as an MP. He added "May the Force be with you, Saj," in reference to their shared love of Star Wars.
Mr Javid, who has held six Cabinet jobs, is the most high-profile Tory yet to decide they've had enough.
Gloomy Conservative MPs are considering their futures as Keir Starmer's emboldened Labour party eyes a return to power at the next election, due in 2024.
Mr Javid said he had "wrestled" with the decision for "some time" but his hand had been forced by a looming deadline for Tory MPs to confirm their intentions.
Party chiefs have asked MPs to declare whether they want to stand again by December 5, although this is not a hard deadline.
He becomes the 12th Conservative to say they don't want to fight the next election, which includes 29-year-old "Red Wall" MP Dehenna Davison.
Other senior Tories including ex-Cabinet Minister Chloe Smith and influential backbencher William Wragg have also announced they will not be running again.
In a letter to his Conservative association, Mr Javid wrote: "Being the local MP and serving in government has been the privilege of my life and I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to serve.
"I always sought to make decisions in the national interest, and in line with my values, and I can only hope my best was sufficient.
"I will of course continue to support my friend the Prime Minister and the people of Bromsgrove in any way I can."
Mr Javid was first elected in 2010 and became a Treasury Minister in 2012.
He went on to be Culture Secretary, Business Secretary, Housing Secretary and Home Secretary.
Boris Johnson named him as Chancellor in 2019 but he quit shortly before the pandemic took hold in 2020 following a power struggle with Dominic Cummings over whether No10 could appoint his aides.
He was replaced at the Treasury by Rishi Sunak and spent some time on the back benches.
But he returned to prominence in 2021 when he succeeded Matt Hancock as Health Secretary, after Mr Hancock was forced to quit for breaching Covid guidance by snogging his aide Gina Coladangelo.
Mr Javid sensationally resigned in July, followed shortly after by Mr Sunak, triggering a wave of ministerial departures that brought Mr Johnson's premiership to an end.
It comes as senior Tory backbencher Sir Charles Walker said it is "almost impossible" for Mr Sunak to win the next election - and warned more of his MPs will stand down.
He said he thought "quite a lot" of Conservative MPs would quit ahead of the next election to avoid 10 years in opposition.
