The sudden decision by Beverley Hughes to step down as England’s Minister for Children at the next Government reshuffle has taken the early years sector – and the Government – by surprise.

Ms Hughes, who is MP for Stretford and Urmston in Greater Manchester, last week cited ‘family circumstances’ and ‘a number of personal and family issues’ behind her wanting to step down from her post now and leave politics after the next General Election, which will be sometime in the next year.

In her letter of resignation to Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 2 June she denied any link between her sudden decision to leave politics and the ongoing MPs’ expenses scandal that has dominated politics in recent months.

Ms Hughes, who has three grown-up children, said, ”I would not have chosen the current appalling climate to announce my decision when so many members are resigning for reasons to do with their parliamentary allowances.

“I want to make it absolutely clear that this has nothing whatsoever to do with my decision or the reason for making it public now. However, because it is widely expected that you will have a reshuffle very soon and also because I am meeting my constituency party later this week, I do not feel I can delay any longer making my intentions clear to you and my friends locally.”

Ed Balls, who has remained as Children’s Secretary after last Friday’s Government reshuffle despite being widely tipped to become the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, paid a fulsome tribute to Ms Hughes. He said she had been “outstanding” as Children’s Minister then added: “While I am sorry she has chosen to stand down, I very much understand the family reasons for Beverley’s decision.

“She will be hugely missed in her current role by this Department and by the stakeholders she has worked with who I know have huge respect and admiration for all that she has achieved.”

The Daycare Trust paid a fulsome tribute to Ms Hughes. Alison Garnham, the Trust’s joint Chief Executive of the Daycare Trust, said, "In her four years as Children's Minister Beverley Hughes has been a tireless champion of high-quality early childhood education and care, and she will be missed by those of us working in the sector. The recent opening of the 3000th Sure Start Children's Centre is a fitting testament to her substantial achievements in office.

“Sure Start Children's Centres make a huge difference to parents and children, providing childcare, early education and health services all over the country, and Beverley Hughes' role in delivering them is a legacy she should be proud of."

Open EYE, which has been campaigning for changes to the literacy goals of the EYFS on the grounds that they are developmentally inappropriate for many young children, also paid tribute to her. A spokesperson for the group said, “No-one has ever questioned Beverley Hughes' sincere commitment to her role as children’s minister. But what our campaign has consistently questioned is the content of Government early years policymaking, and the totally inappropriate encroachment of a fashionable ‘audit and surveillance’ ideology into children's delicate early years.

“We ardently hope that the new minister will have the same degree of energy and commitment to the post that Beverley has shown, but will prove to be far more open to the multiple concerns that exist across the early years field about the statutory imposition of alien and counterproductive organisational cultures on to the pre-compulsory school-age sector.”

Whether or not it was her intention to do her part to help destabilise the Government last week, Ms Hughes’ resignation was part of last Tuesday’s triple whammy to hit the Prime Minister. Although her announcement was overshadowed by Jacqui Smith’s resignation as Home Secretary and former Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt’s announcement that she too was leaving politics after the next election, its timing was such that it is unlikely to be coincidental.

And after a weekend in which Gordon Brown is seeking to restore some stability after further Government resignations and calls for him to step down as Prime Minister, the question facing the childcare and early years sector is who the next Children’s Secretary will be, given that that person will be in the post for less than a year at most.