Caroline Lucas quits as an MP to 'focus on the accelerating crises'

She said that representing the constituency of Brighton Pavilion had prevented her on campaigning more on "the nature and climate emergencies".

Lucas said that she had wanted to focus on being “first and foremost a good constituency MP".

In an open letter to her constituents, she said: “I’ve done everything possible to help wherever I can and always worked to ensure that people feel heard, that their concerns matter, and that they are not alone.

“But the intensity of these constituency commitments, together with the particular responsibilities of being my party’s sole MP, mean that, ironically, I’ve not been able to focus as much as I would like on the existential challenges that drive me – the nature and climate emergencies.

“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.”

Lucas began her political career as a Green Party councillor on Oxfordshire County Council from 1993 to 1997 before representing the party as a Member of the European Parliament for South East England between 1999 and 2010.

She was Green Party leader between 2008 and 2012 before returning for a second stint at the helm, this time co-leading the party with Jonathan Bartley for two years from September 2016.

After being elected to Parliament in the 2010 election she increased her majority at the subsequent three elections, with voters returning her to Parliament with a majority of almost 20,000 in 2019.

Joint leader Adrian Ramsay said the party would be focused on electing new representatives to replace Lucas, who remains the only Green candidate to have made it to the green benches.

“Having MPs who are genuinely dedicated to standing up for the climate and nature could not be more important than it is right now and that’s why we are striving to get more Green MPs elected at the next general election so that we can build on Caroline’s achievements,” he said.

More than 50 MPs have announced an end to their Commons’ careers, including former SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, Conservative former deputy prime minister Dominic Raab and former deputy Labour Party leader Margaret Beckett.