Iain Duncan Smith fails to turn up at hustings in his own constituency

The Work and Pensions Secretary has infamously pioneered sanctions for job interview no-shows

Iain Duncan Smith (PA)

Iain Duncan Smith failed to turn up at a hustings in his own constituency on Monday night, according to local media.

The Work and Pensions Secretary had been invited to debate other candidates at the event at the Woodford Memorial Hall in his Chingford and Woodford Green Seat.

The discussion, organised by local faith groups, was attended by candidates from Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Ukip, the Green Party, TUSC, and Class War.

Mr Duncan Smith was the only candidate seeking to become MP for the area who did not attend.

The no-show was reported in the Illford Recorder local newspaper.

Another local newspaper, the Chingford Guardian, earlier quoted Mr Duncan Smith as saying he would not attend the event due to a “late change in his schedule”.

Ironically, as Work and Pensions Secretary Mr Duncan Smith has ramped up monetary sanctions against people who do not attend job interviews or JobCentre meetings.

Despite Mr Duncan Smith is unlikely to lose his seat, which has been Conservative since its creation due to safe demographics.

At the 2010 election Mr Duncan Smith was over 30% clear of the next most popular candidate, who was from the Labour party.

Mr Duncan Smith has previously faced criticism for avoiding meetings with critics of his policies, including food bank charities.