Helen Grant to Stand Down as MP for Maidstone and Malling at Next General Election
Veteran Conservative MP becomes the first parliamentarian to announce retirement in the current Parliament; cites nearly two decades of service and desire to give her successor time to prepare.
Helen Grant OBE, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Maidstone and Malling, has announced she will stand down at the next general election, expected in 2029. The announcement makes her the first MP of any party in the current Parliament to confirm their retirement.
In a media release issued this evening via her official X account, Grant confirmed the decision was first shared with local party members at the Maidstone & Malling Conservative Association’s Annual General Meeting on 10 July. Publication was deliberately delayed out of respect following the death of her predecessor, Ann Widdecombe, on the same day.
“The greatest privilege of my professional life”
By the time of the next election, Grant will have served 19 years in the House of Commons. She was first elected in 2010 as MP for Maidstone and The Weald, succeeding the long-serving Ann Widdecombe, and was re-elected in July 2024 for the newly drawn seat of Maidstone and Malling following boundary changes.
In her statement, Grant described representing both constituencies as “the greatest privilege of my professional life” and expressed pride in what had been achieved “in partnership with local members and constituents.”
She explained that her recent battle with cancer — major surgery and treatment in 2023–24, from which she is now thankfully free — had reinforced her view that “now is the right moment to start to pass the baton.”
Grant also highlighted the importance of giving her successor a similar preparation period to the one she enjoyed. She was selected as the Conservative candidate in January 2008, nearly two and a half years before the 2010 election, after Widdecombe announced her own retirement in 2007.
Commitment to constituents until the end
Grant emphasised that she will continue to serve her constituency and the local Conservative Association fully until the general election and will give her “complete support” to the candidate selected to succeed her.
She confirmed she has discussed her decision with Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and intends to step down from her current role as
Shadow Solicitor General at the next reshuffle. She thanked Badenoch for her “outstanding leadership and friendship during one of the most fulfilling periods” of her parliamentary career.
Kent, she added, “holds a special place in my heart, and in Simon’s [her husband], which we shall both cherish forever.”
A trailblazing career
Helen Grant made history as the first black woman of mixed heritage to be elected as a Conservative MP and the first selected to defend a Conservative-held seat. She served in government as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport and Tourism (2013–2015) and as a minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. She was appointed Shadow Solicitor General in November 2024.
Her 2024 re-election came with a significantly reduced majority of 1,674 in the new Maidstone and Malling constituency, reflecting the national swing against the Conservatives.
Reactions
Colleagues and local figures have already begun paying tribute. Conservative councillor Lucy Trimnell described the early announcement as “generous and admirable,” noting it gives the new candidate time “to really get to grips with the role.” Other responses on social media have thanked Grant for her service to the constituency.
The selection process for her successor is expected to begin in due course, giving the new candidate a substantial period to build their profile ahead of the 2029 election — exactly the courtesy Grant herself received 18 years ago.
Grant’s decision marks the beginning of a new chapter for one of Kent’s most prominent political figures and for the Maidstone and Malling Conservative Association. She leaves with the thanks of many for nearly two decades of dedicated public service.
