Paul Scully: Former London minister to resign after general election

London Conservative MP and former minister Paul Scally has announced that he will resign at the next general election.

Mr Scully, who has headed Sutton & Cheam since 2015, said the party had “lost its way”.

Announcing his decision on X, Mr Scully said: “I have informed my local association that I will not be running in the next general election.

“For the past nine years, it has been an honor to represent the Congress I have called home for 35 years.”

He added that he had no intention of “retiring as a politician.”

Mr Scully told BBC Radio London that the controversy over his negative comments was not the reason for his decision to resign, but that he was “convinced that I had made the right decision”.

“It wasn’t really part of the decision-making process. There was more of a drift,” he said.

Mr Scully said he found the “no-go-gate frenzy” he spoke of on It shows that it can’t be done.” Few minutes”.

He said the decision to select Susan Hall over himself was “effectively taking the government off the pitch in London”.

“I think it’s a little disrespectful to Londoners that we’re not promoting ourselves as a viable option,” he said.

He said there was a “huge gap” for Hall to bridge between criticizing Mayor Sadiq Khan and actually being able to carry out the role.

Mr Scully cited his achievements as a constituency MP, but added that he had “a lot of unfinished business” in his three years as London minister, which he held from February 2020 to November 2023.

The former minister said the Conservative Party needed to “get out of crisis management” and “show a vision”.

“I still support them and want the party to do well, but they have to seize that opportunity because it’s fading fast,” he added.

Mr Hall’s campaign said Mr Scully had previously “unequivocally” endorsed Mr Hall for mayor in a Telegraph column headlined “Susan Hall is the best candidate for Mayor of London”. He pointed out that