For the last 13 years Crawley residents have entrusted me to represent them in Parliament. This has been an honour, and the responsibility I feel when I stand up in the House of Commons now is the same as when I gave my maiden speech in 2010.

A few days ago I wrote to the Chairman of the Conservative Party to tell him that I will not be seeking re-election as Member of Parliament for Crawley at the next General Election.

I will always be grateful to the people of our town for electing me to an unprecedented four terms in office representing Crawley.

Until Parliament is dissolved for the General Election I will continue to stand up for Crawley and campaign for lower taxation, secure borders, environmental protection, our security and a dynamic economy. As for when the election comes, I look forward to supporting the Crawley Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, and the party nationally in the interests of our United Kingdom.

Easter time is often a moment to reflect, particularly with a number of significant developments over recent months.

I have continued to advocate for our health service as well as the importance of early diagnoses for cancer, which allows the greatest chance of treatments being most effective and successful.

This is why I was delighted just before Christmas when the Government confirmed approval of Crawley as the location of one of 19 new Community Diagnostic Centres. These sites will enable patients to benefit from quicker access to treatment and lifesaving diagnostic tests close to home.

With an estimated 40 per cent increase in doctors, nurses and other patient care staff in Crawley over the three years to last September, and Sussex as one of the areas in the Government’s Discharge Frontrunners programme to lead the way in exploring new long-term initiatives to free up hospital beds, we need to ensure that this results in enhancing the care of Crawley patients.

Parity of esteem for mental health is a priority and I welcome improvements of more than £1 million being confirmed for Langley Green Hospital to improve mental health crisis services.

The recent Budget confirmed cost of living support over 2022-24 will reach £94 billion: an average of £3,300 per household.

To boost energy efficiency in low-income households; across Crawley, £6.8 million will be provided through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.

This initiative is part of the national commitment to reduce overall UK energy demand by 15 per cent by 2030: in addition to supporting the ambition for the UK to move towards greater energy independence.

I would like to wish everyone in Crawley a happy Easter.

Henry Smith MP