A newly elected MP has laid bare the challenges its constituency faces in his maiden speech in the House of Commons.

Peter Lamb, Labour MP for Crawley, expressed concerns over the number of children living in poverty in his constituency during a speech at the Building Safety and Resilience debate on Wednesday.

Crawley is one of the most deprived areas in Sussex. One neighbourhood in the town, Broadfield South, falls within the 10% most deprived areas in England, the latest data, from 2019, shows. A total of four neighbourhoods also scored in the top 20% most deprived nationally.

Mr Lamb told the House of Commons: “Social mobility in the town is the lowest in the South East.

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“Over recent years, rising deprivation has meant that exceptionally high levels of employment have done little to assuage poverty in the constituency, and over a third of Crawley’s children are now growing up in poverty.

“Earlier this year, Crawley borough council became the first council in the country to declare a housing emergency. I love my town, and I am here to fight for it and solve those and other issues facing the constituency.”

Crawley Borough Council had announced that it had fallen short of its annual homes building target (Image: Google Maps) Earlier this month, Crawley Borough Council had announced that it had fallen short of its annual homes building target.

In 2022/23 only 190 homes were completed in the town instead of the targeted 340. Only 78 "affordable" homes were built - 57 per cent of the annual target.

Mr Lamb said: “If there is one issue that I intend to prioritise above all others during my time in this House, it is housing, which is not only essential to solving Crawley’s immediate challenges but part of the history of the town.

Mr Lamb previously stood for Crawley in 2019 losing to Tory Henry Smith, but then won the following election with 17.5453 votes compared with 12,218 for Tory candidate Zack Ali.

He also has served as the leader of Crawley Borough Council from 2014 until 2022