Nigel Adams resigns: Rishi Sunak faces mounting problems as third Tory MP quits in 24 hours

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces a third by-election test after a close ally of Boris Johnson resigned from the Commons with “immediate effect”.

In a tumultuous 24 hours for the Conservative Party, Nigel Adams MP announced on Saturday (10 June) that he was following the former prime minister and former culture secretary Nadine Dorries’ lead in quitting Westminster. In a tweet, Adams said: “Yesterday, Selby Conservatives selected an excellent new parliamentary candidate.

“I’ve today informed the chief whip that I will be standing down as a Member of Parliament with immediate effect. It has been an honour to represent the area where I was raised (and) educated.”

Adams and Dorries had been tipped for peerages in Johnson’s resignation honours but neither featured in Friday’s (9 June) published list. There has been speculation that Downing Street wanted their names removed to avoid by-election contests, although No 10 said Mr Sunak had no involvement in producing the final list.

The Prime Minister has yet to comment on Johnson’s departure. While the Tories enjoy a comfortable 20,000 majority in Selby and Ainsty, Adams’ decision to exit immediately rather than wait until the next election means the Tories will face contests on three fronts.