Henry lives in Crawley and has a young daughter and son. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Crawley in 2010, 2015 and 2017, and again at the General Election on Thursday 12th December 2019.
He ran his own Crawley-based business, and in 1997 was elected to West Sussex County Council. In 2003 he became Leader of the Council, when aged 34 he became the youngest county leader in the country. He was also Chairman of the South East County Strategic Leaders group, representing all authorities across the greater south east.
Additionally, Henry has previously been a Governor at The Oaks, The Brook and Oriel High schools across the town.
In his first year in Parliament Henry introduced his Consumer Protection (Private Car Parks) Bill. While this legislation did not become law Henry has continued to stand up for motorists, welcoming the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 becoming law with the support of the Government.
Henry served on the European Scrutiny Committee between 2010 and 2015 and supported an in/out UK/EU referendum. He led the Leave campaign locally, with 58 per cent of Crawley voters joining the more than 17 million people nationally who voted for Brexit.
At the general election in May 2015, Henry was re-elected as Member of Parliament for Crawley with an increased majority. Following the election the then-Prime Minister, David Cameron, appointed Henry as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government, Greg Clark, a role in which he served until July 2016.
In June 2015, Henry was elected as Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Animal Welfare. In this role, he worked alongside a variety of animal rights organisations, such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the RSPCA.
Following the appointment of Theresa May as Prime Minister in July 2016, Henry served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women & Equalities, Justine Greening.
Henry was re-elected as Crawley MP at the June 2017 General Election receiving more than half of all votes cast.
Henry continues to campaign on a range of issues on behalf of Crawley residents, in particular health. Following the closure of A&E at Crawley Hospital under Labour in 2005 he has successfully campaigned for urgent care services to return with new units recently opened and operating 24/7.
In June 2016 he helped set up, and was elected to chair the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Blood Cancer. The Group’s aims include raising awareness of blood cancer and highlight the needs of patients and their families.
He has also served as Secretary of the APPG on Southern Rail. Henry has persisted in making representations with the Transport Secretary, secured a debate in the House of Commons on the issue in September 2016 and, unlike Labour controlled Crawley Borough Council who officially backed rail strikes, called on the unions to end their industrial action that has caused misery to the traveling public.
Alongside other colleagues from West Sussex, Henry lobbied successfully for a new National Funding Formula (NFF) and an extra £33.5 million announced for schools in our county goes some way to make funding fairer.
A 5.68 per cent per pupil funding boost next year will mean that every school in West Sussex will receive a budget increase, giving teachers, parents and pupils the certainty to plan, and improving standards in our schools. Indeed, funding for Crawley schools is to rise to £82.8 million – on average £5,836 for each secondary student and £4,210 for every primary pupil.
Henry believes that investment in young people is important; he has hosted a number of Crawley Apprenticeship & Jobs Fairs and is proud to support the delivery and expansion of National Citizen Service locally.
Before the dissolution of Parliament, Henry actively campaigned on a number of issues including as Chair of the respective APPGs on Air Passenger Duty Reform and Heart & Circulatory Diseases, and as a Vice Chair of the APPGs on Chagos, Dyslexia & Other Specific Learning Difficulties and New Towns.