TORY MP Nigel Adams has become the third member of the Conservative Party to resign from Parliament in the last 24 hours.
It comes after both Boris Johnson and Nadine Dorries announced on Friday that they would be stepping down as MPs.
Here’s everything you need to know about Adams.
Who is Nigel Adams?
Until Saturday, Adams was the MP for Selby and Ainsty – a position he has held since the seat was first created in 2010.
Since being elected, he has held a number of positions including acting as lord commissioner of the Treasury and parliamentary under-secretary of state for Wales.
During Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister, Adams served as the minister for sport, the minister of state for Asia and the minister of state without portfolio.
Is he an ally of Boris Johnson?
In 2016, Adams was one of the key figures in the unsuccessful Conservative Party leadership bid by Johnson.
Here's the projected Labour lead (@BritainElects / @ElectCalculus) in each constituency in which Johnson & allies have triggered by-elections. All winnable for Labour: Uxbridge and South Ruislip: +11.5 / +13.6 Selby and Ainsty: -2 / +1.9 Mid Bedfordshire: -5.8 / -1.4 https://t.co/5XY6CjRXI6
— Mark McGeoghegan (@markmcgeoghegan) June 10, 2023
In 2022, he said that he would back the former PM if he put himself forward to become prime minister once again.
Despite his loyalty to Johnson however, he was not named on the final honours list.
What will his resignation mean?
Adams’s resignation means that the Tories must now fight a third by-election. He has held his seat pretty comfortably at every election since 2010.
However, according to research from Britain Elects, the vote would be far closer were it held today.
Polling shows the Conservatives would only gain 40.5% of the vote while Labour would gain 38.5%.
This would mark a major decrease in support for the Tories, as Adams gained 60.3% of the vote in the 2019 General Election.
