Local MP resigns as government whip

MP for Hertford & Stortford Julie Marson has resigned from her post as a government whip after just 11 months in the role.

In a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Mrs Marson wrote: "Further to my conversation with the Chief Whip yesterday, I would like to confirm that I will step down from the Whips Office for the personal reasons we discussed.

"It has been a pleasure working with the Whips Office and I look forward to continuing to support you and the government from the backbenches".

The role of a whip is to help organise government business and ensure party discipline.

Mrs Marson previously held the role of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment for ten weeks in 2022 under Boris Johnson.

The MP was elected in 2019, following the retirement of Mark Prisk, winning the seat with a majority of 19,620, securing a 32.6% share of the vote. 

Political forecasting website Electoral Calculus are predicting that Labour will gain the Hertford & Stortford seat at the next election with a 1832 majority. The website uses national factors and local demographics in predicting outcomes, successfully forecasting the party to win the most seats in seven out of eight elections since 1992.