Brexiteer former minister Sir James Duddridge has announced he won’t stand at the next election. Guido makes that the fifty-fith addition to the list…

Duddridge has been MP for Rochford and Southend East since 2005 and served as Brexit minister under Johnson and Africa minister on either side of that, along with other roles. In his letter to Sunak, Duddridge says: “I think I have done my time. Forgive me for moving on to do other things“. The Tories will have to pick a fighter for the seat, it’ll be a tight battle…

As of this morning, it’s still a mixed picture on the potential Tory rebellion over the Windsor Framework. The European Research Group are meeting at 10.30 to hear the report of its ‘star chamber’, led by Sir Bill Cash, which will outline the chamber’s final judgement on the deal. According to reports overnight, Cash is expected to say the Stormont Brake – the element MPs will debate on Wednesday – is “unusable” in practice, and the Group shouldn’t support it. Tory MPs speaking to Guido say they nonetheless expect the Tory rebellion to be “soft“, and “they’ll have to have uncovered something pretty bad for a lot of people to vote against it”. The Telegraph has heard similarly, with one MP saying the group were “genuinely torn”…

The first Tory out the gates declaring their opposition this morning is Sir James Duddridge, who describes the deal as a “betrayal of Brexit” and vows to “absolutely vote against” it. The DUP decision to oppose it has put the wind in his sails. The Express, meanwhile, is more certain the ERG “is likely to side with the DUP” and push the rebellion figures higher. Although even if more MPs ultimately do follow Duddridge and the DUP, Starmer’s support means it’s incredibly unlikely to sink the deal entirely. It’s also worth keeping an eye on abstentions rather than outright opposition, as with the Illegal Migrant Bill earlier this month. Expect a press conference from the ERG this morning after their meeting, with Chris Heaton-Harris also up in front of Cash and the European Scrutiny Committee this afternoon. A busy day in SW1 – get the popcorn…

An anecdote familiar to many Parliamentarians, though still wonderful…

While most recently-sacked ministers have stepped away from the limelight to lick their wounds, former FCDO Africa minister James Duddridge is taking a more novel approach. He’s brazenly posted on LinkedIn that he’s “keen to stay connect [sic] with the continent” and has offered himself up for “some part time / non exec or consultancy roles”:

Given he is the former Minister for Africa, and brazenly asking for consultancy opportunities on the continent, Guido imagines ACoBA may have a thing or two to say about his hasty side-hustle proposals. Guido will be keeping a keen eye on James’s register of interests…

James Dudderidge, Minister at the Foreign Office, quietly broke ranks last night to call on Boris to hand over the reins of power until such a time he has recovered from Coronavirus. In contrast, the line from Ministers on the media round this morning is that Boris is “still very much in charge of the government”…

Upon hearing the breaking news of Boris being rushed to hospital last night, Dudderidge – who is also a minister in DfID – Tweeted

“Take care boss. Get well. Come back fighting. But for now rest, look after yourself and let the others do the heavy lifting @BorisJohnson“

Unlike the PM, the Chief Whip is still up to the day job, so unfortunately Dudderidge can expect a slap on the wrists…