In the turmoil of Boris Johnson's dramatic resignation this morning, Sajid Javid has 7/1 odds to become the next Prime Minister. Featuring in multiple cabinets, the freshly-resigned health secretary has been a big name in Westminster for years.
Yesterday, July 6, Sajid Javid was among the heavy-hitters who handed in his resignation as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. He followed his resignation letter with a blistering speech in the House of Commons, calling on Boris Johnson to go.
But how could the Rochdale -born MP ascend to take the top job at Number 10?
READ MORE: Covid-19 hospitalisations more than trebled in last month in Greater Manchester
The 52-year-old MP, who was first elected in 2010, rose through the ranks after being close to ex-Chancellor George Osborne. Javid was born in Rochdale as one of five sons to Pakistani immigrant parents.
His father, Abdul, was a bus driver who arrived in the country in 1961 with £1 in his pocket. The family then moved to Bristol as his parents took over a shop, living in a two-bedroom flat above.
He went to a comprehensive school in Bristol before studying economics and politics at Exeter University, later carving out a high-flying career in finance, working as a managing director at Deutsche Bank.
In 2010, Sajid Javid became the Conservative MP for Bromsgrove, before going on to hold ministerial roles in housing, business and culture. He became Home Secretary in 2018, followed by a stint as Chancellor from 2019 to 2020, then resigning amid a row with Dominic Cummings.
Javid has previously stood for Tory leadership twice, the first in 2016 following David Cameron's tenure. He then made it to the final four in the contest to replace Theresa May in 2019, but dropped out and subsequently endorsed Boris Johnson.
Since taking on the Health Secretary role in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, taking over from Matt Hancock, Sajid Javid has come under fire from medics who have slammed his plans to deal with the NHS backlog as 'unrealistic'. He, however, has vowed that the NHS will make huge strides, clearing the pandemic backlog by 2025.
But the tides turned in the Commons on Tuesday as he said, while making a personal statement, that he is “instinctively a team player”: “Treading the tightrope between loyalty and integrity has become impossible in recent months.
“I will never risk losing my integrity.”
He further told the Commons: “I also believe a team is as good as its team captain and a captain is as good as his or her team. So, loyalty must go both ways. The events of recent months have made it increasingly difficult to be in that team.
“It’s not fair on ministerial colleagues to go out every morning defending lines that don’t stand up and don’t hold up. It’s not fair on my parliamentary colleagues, who bear the brunt of constituents’ dismay in their inboxes and on the doorsteps in recent elections.
“And it’s not fair on Conservative members and voters who rightly expect better standards from the party they supported.”
He added that "enough is enough" while telling the Commons: “This week again, we have reason to question the truth and integrity of what we’ve all been told. And at some point we have to conclude that enough is enough.
“I believe that point is now.”
Mr Javid noted that he is giving the Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt over the partygate scandal, but added: "I do fear that the reset button can only work so many times".
He added: “When the first stories of parties in Downing Street emerged late last year I was personally assured at the most senior level by my right honourable friend’s then team that, and I quote, ‘there had been no parties in Downing Street and no rules were broken’.
“So I gave the benefit of doubt. And I went on those media rounds to say that I’d had those assurances from the most senior level of the Prime Minister’s team.
“Then we had more stories. We had the Sue Gray report, a new Downing Street team. I continued to give the benefit of the doubt.”
Mr Javid also gave an apparent message to members of the Cabinet who have remained, stating: "Not doing something is an active decision.
"Last month I gave the benefit of doubt one last time… I have concluded that the problem starts at the top and I believe that is not going to change and that means that it is for those of us in a position who have responsibility to make that change."
After his resignation on Tuesday, he told reporters after his resignation on Tuesday evening that he was looking forward to spending time with his family. Exactly how long that will last remains to be seen.
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