[5][failed verification] Smith stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate in the Pound Hill South ward of Crawley Borough Council in 1996.

[9] He stood against the incumbent MP Laura Moffatt, the second time achieving the highest national swing from Labour to the Conservatives, reducing the majority to 37, the smallest in the country.

Created by Cher Chevalier and Judith Clegg, the policy suggests steps to improve and enforce Animal Welfare Law.

[21] Having previously criticised the government's conduct of the Brexit negotiations,[22] he submitted a letter of no confidence in the Conservative Party leader Theresa May on the day after publication of the draft withdrawal agreement between the UK and the EU.

[26] A number of scholars and commentators regard Marx and in particular his work On the Jewish Question, which addresses "The Capacity of Present-day Jews and Christians to Become Free", as antisemitic.

[36] In a June 2021 interview, he highlighted the damaging effect on jobs in his constituency of government policy on travel restrictions.

In a letter to the Telegraph with nine other Conservative MPs, Smith said: "We are all patriots and optimists, and we agree with Liz Truss's assessment that our country’s best days are ahead of us.

"[41][42] However, following the removal of Braverman as Home Secretary and a vote on fracking, in which he did not back the government's position, he became the eighth Conservative MP to publicly call for Truss's resignation.

[44] His parliamentary candidacy at the 2015 general election was personally endorsed by Queen guitarist Brian May on the grounds of his animal welfare record.

The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session, which meant it made no further progress.

[49][50] In 2022 he successfully tabled an amendment to the Nationality & Borders Bill which granted British Citizenship rights to the descendants of exiled Chagos Islanders.

He repeatedly denied rumours linking him to a possible defection to UKIP in 2014, insisting he supported the Conservatives' other policies and felt they were the best option for a referendum on the EU.