Green Party MP Caroline Lucas to stand down at next election

The former Green party leader, Caroline Lucas, has announced she will stand down as an MP at the next general election.

Ms Lucas said the pressures of her role meant she had struggled to focus on "the challenges that drive me - the nature and climate emergencies".

She thanked her supporters, who she said had "put the politics of hope above the politics of fear".

She was elected for Brighton Pavilion in 2010, becoming the first Green MP.

Ms Lucas, who had two spells as Green leader, has increased her majority at every elections since, winning by a margin of almost 20,000 votes in 2019.

In an open letter to her constituents, Ms Lucas said it had been the "privilege of my life to serve this extraordinary constituency and community".

She said: "I have always been a different kind of politician - as those who witnessed my arrest, court case and acquittal over peaceful protest at the fracking site in Balcombe nearly 10 years ago will recall.

"And the truth is, as these threats to our precious planet become ever more urgent, I have struggled to spend the time I want on these accelerating crises.

"I have therefore decided not to stand again as your MP at the next election."