Henry Smith was elected as the Conservative MP for Crawley in 2010, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 8,360.
The constituency of Crawley is a compact seat found in the top right hand corner of West Sussex, and which is centred almost entirely on the town of Crawley. This is one of the more ethnically diverse seats in the south of England outside London, and there are significant Hindu and Muslim communities here. Located close to the M23 motorway, the local economy in this area is heavily influenced by Gatwick Airport, which is itself located in the constituency. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and the travel firm TUI all have large bases in this constituency. The Centre for Cities think tank identified Crawley as the place in the UK whose economy was most vulnerable during the 2020/21 coronavirus pandemic.
Crawley is one of the UK’s most long standing marginal seats which has consistently voted with the government of the day, since the seat was first established in its current form back in 1983. It was held by Labour between 1997 and 2010. In 2005, Labour won this seat by just 37 votes, the smallest majority in the country at the time.
Born in 1969, Smith was educated at University College London. He worked for a property investment business before being elected to Parliament
Smith was previously a West Sussex County Councillor between 1997 and 2010. He was Leader of West Sussex County Council from 2003 until 2010, taking on the role at just 34. He was also Chairman of the South East Strategic Leaders group. He supports greater English devolution.
A supporter of animal welfare causes, Smith voted for Britain to leave the EU in the 2016 Brexit referendum. He submitted a letter of no confidence in Theresa May during her time as Prime Minister. He backed Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
Henry Smith is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Blood cancer; the Future of Aviation; Historic Counties.
Smith is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Vegetarianism and Veganism. He has been a vegetarian since his teens.
He is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on the Caribbean; Chagos; China; Kurdistan in Turkey and Syria; Liechtenstein; Turks and Caicos Islands; Animal Welfare; Business Travel; Cancer; Commercial Radio; Devolution; Dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties; Explosive Threats; Heart Valve Disease; Ovarian Cancer; Pancreatic Cancer; Radio Therapy; Sustainable Aviation; and St George’ Day.
Email: henry.smith.mp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: http://www.henrysmith.info/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HenrySmithMP
