The MP for Leyton and Wanstead has announced he will be stepping down from Parliament to spend more time with his children.

John Cryer, who has served as an MP for Leyton and Wanstead for 14 years, shared the news in a statement on X.

Mr Cryer, 60, said: "I write to let you know that I have decided to stand down as your Member of Parliament at the forthcoming election.

"This has been an extremely difficult decision, perhaps the most difficult I have ever had to make."

He explained his choice was down to him wanting to spend more time with his two young children amidst what he anticipates to be an "extremely busy and demanding" next Parliament.

The move comes ahead of the upcoming general election on July 4.

The Labour MP said it was an "immense privilege" to have represented Leyton and Wanstead for the past 14 years.

Before this, he was MP for Hornchurch from 1997 to 2005.

In his statement, Mr Cryer thanked members of the Leyton and Wanstead Labour Party, constituents, and his office staff for their support throughout his service.

Mr Cryer said: "Our constituency's caseload is perhaps one of the heaviest with very large numbers of cases in categories such as immigration, housing, and benefits.

"Councillors in both Redbridge and Waltham Forest have had an increasingly uphill battle in defending public services."

He wrote that he believes the country needs a Labour government "perhaps more than at any time since 1945".

The 1945 general election, the last one to take place in July, saw Clement Attlee-led Labour win a landslide victory in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Mr Cryer, who has served as the chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party since 2015, added in his statement that he will continue to support Labour despite not standing at the election on July 4.

He concluded: "I may be standing down, but I will be campaigning in the election campaign and will do all I can to help and support the Labour cause over this campaign and beyond."