South Holland and the Deepings MP Sir John Hayes confirms that he is standing in the next election for the Conservative Party

MP Sir John Hayes who has represented this area for 27 years has confirmed that he will be standing in the next General Election – but is forecast to see his majority slashed.

Sir John says it has been a ‘great honour’ to serve the constituents of the South Holland and the Deepings – which he has established as of the safest Tory seats in the country – and says he remains as enthusiastic as he was back in 1997.

A YouGov poll released by The Times last week has predicted that former minister Sir John will continue to retain the seat but his share of the vote would plummet 36.8%. In the 2019 election, he achieved 37,338 (75.7%).

Nationally, the poll puts Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives on course for a big defeat with just 155 seats left (down from 365 in 2019) and only 24% of the vote.

But Sir John, who has once again been selected by local Conservative party members, has warned against extrapolating too much from opinion polls.

He said: “It is going to be a tough election for us. We have been in power for a long time and that is always the case. I take the view never to be complacent about my constituency that is why I spend so much time in the area taking up causes and campaigns.

“Opinion polls and real polls are different things. We should not extrapolate too much from opinion polls.”

Sir John had supported Liz Truss before her 44 day spell as Prime Minister came to its end- but says she was his fourth choice for the top job after Boris Johnson, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch.

He said: “It is not easy when you have had three prime ministers since the last election, it is never going to be a positive. On the other hand it has been quite difficult period since the 2019 election with the pandemic and war in Ukraine.”

Sir John, who was granted a knighthood in 2018, said he is seen as a senior member of the house after holding ministerial posts and that this gives him ‘opportunity to deliver for the constituency’.

He said: “I enjoy the job as much as when I first started. Hopefully I am still as enthusiastic and still learning.

“You get to understand more and more and there is no substitute for that. When you become an MP the first term or two you are learning a great deal and, once you have gone through that you learn how parliament works and how to be effective.

“I am still fit and well and energetic. I am no more cynical than I was.”

Sir John says that in ‘some ways’ the area is better than it was when he first took over and lists achievements such as the Johnson Community Hospital along with school performance.

But he say there is more to do with the big issues surrounding access to dentists and GPs along with investment in the area’s roads.

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