The former London minister took a swipe at Susan Hall’s selection as Conservative mayoral candidate as he became the latest Tory MP to announce he will quit before the next general election.
Paul Scully conceded he was “disappointed" not to have been chosen as his party's Mayoral candidate, with gaffe-prone London assembly member Ms Hall selected to run instead. He added that the perception among Londoners was that his party was “being disrespectful” to the capital and had “lost focus”.
The Sutton and Cheam MP told the Standard: “I don't want to retire as a politician but I’m not going to be part of the long term solution.
“So it's better for me to go. It's been a real privilege to be the MP for my home area but it’s just the right time to go before things outside that home area start to present themselves.”
Mr Scully said he was not shortlisted for London Mayor because Conservative central officer were concerned hos campaign could become about Government failures.
He added: “It's part of a lack of focus. People in the party were overthinking that decision.
“I don't think they had Londoners’ best interests [in mind] when they were working out the job description that they were trying to select for.
“The irony is that they picked someone who is having their campaign run by central office and so therefore is quite close to government. The point is for London it was very narrow view. Londoners want someone who can run a £20billion organisation.
“What worries me is that some of the coverage, some of the responses, are that [the Conservatives] are being disrespectful to London.”
Mr Scully is the seventh London Conservative in the capital to confirm they will not stand at the election, expected in the autumn.
The Sutton & Cheam MP said it was a decision he had been considering for "some time" and he had not been swayed by the fall out after his controversial comments last week that there are "no go" areas in London and Birmingham.
Asked whether he thought the Tories has given up on winning in the capital, he said: “I was Minister for London for four years and it was a lonely place sometimes.
“Talking about how the government truly believes in London, and that when London works the UK but you can't just have one person carrying that narrative.”
Mr Scully won a majority of more than 8,300 votes at the 2019 election. His seat is a top target of the Liberal Democrats.
He denied rumours that he will stand as an independent at the Mayoral election and insisted that he will not be leaving the party.
“This is purely an announcement about my roll as an MP ahead of the next election,” he said.
“Sutton remains remains very, very winnable and I want to make sure that my successor has every bit of support to make that happen. There's still plenty to do.”
The Ipsos survey showed backing for the Conservatives nosediving by seven points from 27 per cent in January.
The result is the worst for the Tories since 1978 when this regular poll tracker started and puts them a gaping 27 percentage points behind Labour.
Dozens of Tory MPs have announced they will not be standing at the next election.
In London, Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond Hendon MP Matthew Offord, Bromley and Chislehurst MP Bob Neill, Cities and Westminster MP Nickie Aiken and Beckenham MP, Finchley MP Mike Freer and Bob Stewart, who now sits as an independent, have all said they will resign before the next election.
