Henry Smith was elected as Member of Parliament for Crawley in 2010, 2015, 2017, and for a historic fourth term at the General Election in December 2019.

He ran his own Crawley-based business, and in 1997 was elected to West Sussex County Council. In 2003 he became Leader of the Council, when aged 34 he became the youngest county leader nationally. He was also Chairman of the South East County Strategic Leaders group, representing all authorities across the greater south east.

Additionally, Henry has previously been a Governor at The Oaks, The Brook and Oriel High schools locally.

In his first year in Parliament Henry introduced his Consumer Protection (Private Car Parks) Bill. While this legislation did not become law Henry has continued to stand up for motorists, welcoming the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 becoming law with the support of the Government.

Henry served on the European Scrutiny Committee between 2010 and 2015 and supported an in/out UK/EU referendum. He led the area Leave campaign, with 58 per cent of Crawley voters joining the more than 17 million people nationally who voted for Brexit.

At the General Election in May 2015, Henry was re-elected as Member of Parliament for Crawley with an increased majority. Following the election the then-Prime Minister, David Cameron, appointed Henry as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government a role in which he served until July 2016.

In June 2015, Henry was elected as Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Animal Welfare, a position in which he served until the 2019 General Election and subsequently serving as Vice-Chair. In this role, he worked alongside a variety of animal rights organisations, such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the RSPCA.

Following the appointment of Theresa May as Prime Minister in July 2016, Henry served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women & Equalities.

Henry was re-elected as Crawley MP at the June 2017 General Election receiving more than half of all votes cast.

Henry continued to campaign on a range of issues on behalf of Crawley residents, in particular health. Following the closure of A&E at Crawley Hospital under Labour in 2005 he has successfully campaigned for urgent care services to return with new units opened.

In June 2016 he helped set up, and was elected to chair the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Blood Cancer. The Group’s aims include raising awareness of blood cancer and highlighting the needs of patients and their families.

He has also served as Secretary of the APPG on Southern Rail, lobbying for Crawley’s commuters.

Alongside other colleagues from West Sussex, Henry lobbied successfully for and welcomed extra funding announced for schools in our county to make funding fairer.

Henry believes that investment in young people is important; he has hosted a number of Crawley Apprenticeship & Jobs Fairs and is proud to support the delivery and expansion of National Citizen Service locally.

Henry has actively campaigned on a number of issues including as Chair of the respective APPGs on Air Passenger Duty Reform and Heart & Circulatory Diseases, and as a Vice Chair of the APPG on New Towns.

At the General Election in December 2019, Henry was re-elected as Member of Parliament for Crawley; becoming the first person to win a fourth term since the creation of the parliamentary constituency in 1983.

Henry was quick to recognise the scale of coronavirus, first raising the issue in the House of Commons in January 2020, and has stood up for local workers, families and businesses throughout the pandemic.

Given the importance of Gatwick Airport to the local area economy, in May 2020 Henry launched the Future of Aviation Group to campaign for Britain’s aviation sector following the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. In October 2020 the Group was officially registered with Parliament as the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Future of Aviation.

A number of issues which the Group has campaigned on subsequently come into force, including extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Henry continued to highlight issues relating to the aviation sector with the Government, including securing and leading House of Commons debates on duty on shopping at UK entry points and on the role of aviation in UK trade.

Henry is a determined campaigner for Crawley and pursues a wide range of issues with the Government. The importance of improving health outcomes is a cause Henry continued to highlight, and in Parliament he is an Officer of the APPG on Pancreatic Cancer and a Vice Chair of the respective APPGs on Cancer, Heart Valve Disease and Radiotherapy, the latter reflecting the importance of Crawley’s role as the home of several leading manufacturers whose radiotherapy scanners play an important role in improving outcomes for oncology patients.

In proud recognition of the large Chagossian community in Crawley, Henry served as Chair of the Chagos APPG, and led a number of constituents to Downing Street to hand petitions to the Government. Henry has successfully campaigned for nationality rights for descendants of the Chagos islanders.

Ensuring opportunities for all is close to Henry’s heart, and he was an Officer of the APPG on Learning Disability and a Vice Chair of the APPG on Dyslexia & Other Specific Learning Difficulties, as well as a Vice President of the British Dyslexia Association.

Henry’s Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, which sought to ban British hunters from bringing ‘trophies’ of endangered and vulnerable animals into Great Britain, was approved by the House of Commons in March 2023, before falling in the House of Lords.

In March 2023, Henry announced that he would not be standing at the upcoming General Election, and continued to pursue issues to improve Crawley and the country as a whole.

Ahead of the coronation of King Charles III, Henry had the honour of meeting the monarch at an event in Westminster Hall.

Henry successfully campaigned against Transport for London proposals to scrap the Day Travelcard, which would have made it more difficult for Crawley residents to visit the nation’s capital.

Henry continued to highlight issues relating to the British Indian Ocean Territory and in November 2023 the Foreign Affairs Committee launched a Sub-Committee on Overseas Territories which looked into issues including the right of the Chagossian people to return to their ancestral home and education support for British Overseas Territories students.

In December 2023, Henry presented a petition of local residents in the House of Commons in opposition to Homes England proposals for up to 10,000 housing units on greenfield land to the west of Ifield.

At the start of 2024, Henry welcomed Ofsted and PISA findings highlighting the rise of education standards in England compared to 2010.

Henry continued to speak in favour of Britain’s support for Ukraine in the face of aggression from Russia, and to mark the second anniversary of the invasion highlighted in Parliament the importance of strengthening NATO air defences.

In May 2024, the Animal Welfare (Live Exports) Act 2024 received royal assent. This bans the export of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses for slaughter and fattening from Great Britain, a cause Henry had pursued for many years.

Henry’s last question in the House of Commons saw him highlight the importance of Government support for the aviation sector reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The final action Henry took to represent Crawley in the House of Commons was to present a petition of local residents on behalf of the family of 12-year-old Tyler Wills, who tragically lost his life crossing the road following the flooding of the underpass on the A23 in November 2022. The petition called on the Department for Transport and West Sussex County Council to ensure safe and accessible pedestrian crossing points on the A23 in Crawley.

Parliament was dissolved on 30th May ahead of the General Election on 4th July 2024, with Henry standing down as the longest-serving Member of Parliament for Crawley.