Rory Stewart quits the Conservatives and says he won't stand at the next general election
LONDON - Rory Stewart has resigned from Boris Johnson's Conservative party and said he will not stand at the next general election.
Stewart - who ran against Johnson in the contest to replace Theresa May as party leader and prime minister earlier this year - said on Friday it was with "sadness" that he was quitting the party.
The member of Parliament for Penrith and The Border had in recent months become increasingly at-odds with the party's pro-Brexit membership over his staunch opposition to a no-deal exit from the European Union.
Last month, he and 20 other MPs had the Conservative whip removed after they voted to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
On Friday morning he tweeted: "It's been a great privilege to serve Penrith and The Border for the last ten years, so it is with sadness that I am announcing that I will be standing down at the next election, and that I have also resigned from the Conservative Party."
Who is Stewart?
Stewart was elected MP for Penrith and The Border in 2010.
He served as Secretary of State for International Development in 2019 in Theresa May's government but rose to prominense when he entered the contest to replace the former prime minister.
He started the race as a little-known outsider and was not seen as a leading candidate.
However, his campaign quickly gathered momentum and national attention, impressing both Conservative MPs and the general public with his strategy of traveling around the country and speaking directly with people.
Stewart used the Twitter hashtag #RoryWalks while touring the country as a leadership candidate.
During his campaign, Stewart was highly-critical of eventual winner, Johnson.
At one rally he questioned whether the current prime minister could be trusted with national security.
"I don't want to make this too personal - do you really feel that this is the person that you want engaging with the detail and the future of your health and education system?" he said.
"Is this the person that you want writing the instructions to the nuclear submarines?
"Is this the person that you want embodying the nation on the world stage and guiding you through the most difficult choice that Britain has faced for 50 years?"
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