Ahead of the General Election on Thursday 4th July, Parliament will dissolve on Thursday 30th May: when all 650 Members of Parliament cease to hold their role.
 
It has been the greatest honour to have been elected to serve our town for four consecutive terms over the last 14 years; to have the opportunity to assist local residents and stand up for our community.
 
When last year I announced that I would not be seeking re-election, I promised that I would continue to campaign for lower taxation, secure borders, environmental protection, our security and a dynamic economy. These are all causes I have pursued, as I have done so on behalf of Crawley throughout my time in Parliament.
 
My work as a member of the European Scrutiny Committee played a role in my support for an in/out EU referendum and subsequent leadership of the Leave campaign in Crawley, which won in our town as it did nationally.
 
To be asked to serve as Parliamentary Private Secretary to two cabinet ministers was a privilege, as was being elected by colleagues to the House of Commons International Development Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee, the latter establishing a Sub-Committee on Overseas Territories.
 
Crawley is home to a large Chagossian community and I managed to convince Government to allow descendants of those forcibly removed from their homeland to apply for British overseas territories citizenship.
 
As Crawley MP I had the opportunity to see just how many people across our town share my love of animals and serving as a Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Animal Welfare was a particular joy. Securing the introduction of mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses was an important step forward.
 
MPs are sent to Westminster to use their judgment and experiences to seek improvements to the lives of all. With the memory of my late mother in my mind I established the APPG on Blood Cancer, having the honour of chairing this group for six years.
 
We now have more Sussex Police officers, extra NHS provision and record school funding.
 
One of the greatest challenges of our time was the global pandemic. Given the significance of the aviation sector on the Crawley and Gatwick economy, we were affected by Covid-19 more than most. To stand up for local workers I established and chaired the APPG for the Future of Aviation, leading cross-party representations to Government in the interests of the sector and its people.
 
It is perhaps fitting that my final parliamentary question was on net zero and support for sustainable aviation fuels.
 
I know our town will continue to live up to its motto reflecting a happy and cohesive community: I Grow and I Rejoice.

As we lose members of our nation’s greatest generation it is all the more important that we remember their great sacrifices.
 
On 6th June 1944 – D-Day – the Allied forces successfully landed on the beaches of Normandy. It marked the largest seaborne invasion in history and was vital in liberating western Europe from Nazi Germany.
 
The 80th anniversary of D-Day will be commemorated on 5th and 6th June with events taking place in the UK and France, in honour of all who risked their lives for our freedom and our peace.
 
Crawley played its role in the lead-up to the Battle of Normandy; with hundreds of tanks stored along Crawley Avenue in the spring of 1944, and several army units based in the area.

At the start of May I led a House of Commons debate reiterating the salience of the aviation sector to the wider British economy and the need for Government policy to further reflect this.
 
As Crawley MP and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Future of Aviation the importance of the aviation sector to our local and national economy is clear.
 
It is right that we continue to call on the Government to maintain and enhance its support for the sector, particularly with Gatwick Airport in our borough’s boundary.
 
The British aviation industry is an asset and an important part of our economy. To help secure economic growth however we need policy in place to support the sector. This includes our exporters who rely on aviation for their continued success, and utilising the benefits and opportunities of going further and faster on decarbonising aviation to make the most of these economic gains.
 
The UK needs to sell more high-value services in areas such as banking and architecture, in which we have a competitive advantage, to boost productivity and tax revenues and raise the trend rate of growth.
 
I have continued to highlight the importance of Jet Zero – net zero aviation by 2050 – where Government and industry are working together to achieve this.
 
I welcomed last month Government’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate with 10 per cent of all jet fuel set to go green by 2030, as well as proposals for a revenue certainty scheme which would look to guarantee revenue from SAF and provide new and existing producers and investors with the confidence to continue investing in the industry.
 
Also I questioned the Leader of the House of Commons as well as the Energy Security & Net Zero Secretary about SAF revenue support schemes.

Congratulations to Scott Lindsey and his Crawley Town team for winning the League Two Play-Off Final at Wembley Stadium. Everyone at the club should be proud of their efforts. The team’s victory in its first appearance at the national stadium saw the side secure promotion to League One, in front of an incredible 17,000 Crawley fans at Wembley.
 
Crawley Town had been one of only two clubs out of the entire 92 in the Premier League and Football League who had never played at either the old or new Wembley Stadium.
 
It is an incredible achievement that this milestone has now been reached. With more than 17,000 fans supporting Crawley Town at Wembley, this marks the highest allocation of fans backing the club at one game since its founding in 1896.
 
A good number of these thousands will be season-ticket holders and long-term fans who had waited for this day for years if not decades, after following their team at the Broadfield and Town Mead before that, and away grounds up and down the country in loyal support of the club.

Buy British: Last summer I joined more than 100 parliamentary colleagues in supporting the call for a ‘Buy British’ button on supermarket websites. We wrote to supermarket chief executives making clear that our ask was simple and recognised that stores are keen to support UK farmers.
 
Over recent months we have seen most major UK supermarkets commit to including this on their online stores. Morrisons, Aldi, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Waitrose, the Co-op and Tesco have all signed up to the cause.
 
Banning live animal exports: After receiving royal assent in recent days, the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act 2024 is now law. I am delighted that this 2019 General Election manifesto commitment has passed.
 
The UK is a nation of animal lovers, and the fact that sheep, cattle and other animals were facing uncomfortable and possibly life-threatening conditions when being moved abroad was unacceptable.
 
This new legislation puts those wrongs right by banning live exports for fattening and slaughter – delivering on a key manifesto pledge and securing the dignity of animals in the future. Enacting this is only possible now the UK has left the European Union, and will stop animals enduring stress, exhaustion and injury on long and unnecessary export journeys.

Recognition for our Armed Forces: In the House of Commons I expressed my gratitude to current and former UK Armed Forces personnel on operations in the Middle East, and questioned the Minister of State for the Armed Forces about recognition of British veterans who served in Aden in the 1960s with a General Service Medal.
 
UK aid: Questioned the Deputy Foreign Secretary about the need for aid to get through by road to the people of Gaza, following my Foreign Affairs Committee visit to the region where we heard that aid going into Gaza would sometimes be stopped because of potential dual use of equipment for humanitarian purposes as well as military use by Hamas.
 
Endangered species: Asked the Nature Minister about the actions of Government to enhance animal welfare and highlighted with her the work of Larch Class at Three Bridges Primary School who have been learning about protecting endangered species.
 
Airport eGates: Calling for continued Home Office engagement with airport operators to help prevent eGate system outages.
  
It has been an honour to serve our community in the House of Commons and I am grateful for all the messages I have received in recent days

With my best wishes