Norwich North MP Chloe Smith to stand down at next election

The Conservative MP for Norwich North, Chloe Smith, is to stand down at the next general election.

The former work and pensions secretary served in the cabinet role during Liz Truss's brief tenure in No 10 and has held the Norwich North seat since 2009.

Among her ministerial posts, Ms Smith also served in the Treasury and Northern Ireland Office.

Ms Smith was 27 years old when she was first elected and was the youngest MP in the House of Commons at the time.

She has contested and retained the marginal seat in five elections.

Ms Smith said she was most proud of founding the Norwich for Jobs project, helping thousands of young people into work in the city.

"I have been honoured to be Norwich North's MP," she said.

"It's a fantastic job for a fantastic place, and it's a particular privilege to be able to represent Norwich and Norfolk, where I come from.

"I am grateful to the thousands of Norwich citizens who placed their trust in me so many times."

Ms Smith did not given a reason for her departure, but thanked her team for supporting her during "tough personal times".

"In 2024, after 15 years of service, it will be the right time to step back, for me and my young family," she said.

She has consistently won the seat in general elections with a majority of about 4,000 - except for in 2017, when this dropped to 507.

From 1997 until 2009 the constituency was held by Labour's Ian Gibson.

Assuming a general election would not be held before the end of the year, in 2024 Ms Smith would become Norwich North's longest serving MP in modern times, her office said.

In her statement she said she was proud to have worked cross-party, particularly putting the British Sign Language Act into law with Rosie Cooper MP. She said this was significant because of a deaf family member.

Ms Smith was also involved in lobbying for new carriages on the Norwich-London train line and co-chaired the Great Eastern Mainline Taskforce.

The Conservative Party said the process to select its next candidate would take place "in the coming months".