Tracey Crouch, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, to stand down at next electionPublished25 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, UK ParliamentImage caption, Tracey Crouch is also an FA qualified football coachBy Bob DaleBBC News, South EastTracey Crouch, the Conservative MP for Chatham and Aylesford, has announced she is to stand down at this year’s expected election.Ms Crouch has been an MP since 2010, and served as a minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport between 2015 and 2018.In her letter to her constituency chairman she described her reasons as “entirely personal and positive”.Ms Crouch has recovered from breast cancer after her diagnosis in 2020.In 2023 she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for Breast Cancer Kent.In her letter she said: “While everyone’s cancer journey is different, for me going through a diagnosis and coming out the other side of treatment has been a life affirming experience.”It has been an opportunity to pause and reflect on my own personal priorities and based on that I truly believe it is time to seek a new professional challenge.”Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ms Crouch has been the MP for Chatham and Aylesford since 2010Ms Crouch, a keen football fan, qualified FA coach and Tottenham Hotspur supporter, was awarded the CBE in 2022 for organising a fan-led review into the sport.She quit her ministerial post in 2018 and returned to the backbenches over what she claimed was a delay to a crackdown on maximum stakes on fixed-odds betting machines.She said her “loyalty to the Conservative Party remains as strong as ever”.”I have a great deal of fondness for my constituents,” Ms Crouch added. “There have been battles lost, victories won, but there has never been a dull moment.”Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk. Related TopicsTracey CrouchChathamMore on this storyKent’s parliamentary map changes ahead of electionPublished15 JanuaryMPs to get help finding a new career if voted outPublished9 December 2023MP who battled cancer to climb KilimanjaroPublished6 June 2023Chatham MP awarded CBE after football reviewPublished2 June 2022Tracey Crouch: ‘It’s been a gruelling few months’Published17 February 2021Minister quits over bet crackdown ‘delay’Published1 November 2018Related Internet LinksUK ParliamentThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.