Wednesday 28 July 2021 Last Wednesday I joined Lewis Biggs, the curator of the 2020 Folkestone Triennial, for a tour of some of the new artworks for this year’s show. The Triennial had been delayed since last autumn, but now makes its return with some spectacular new artworks, that are not only talking points in […]
Article by Matt Leclere for the Folkestone & Hythe Express, published 7 April 2021 A multi-million pound funding package to support arts and heritage groups has been awarded by the government. The funding provided by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will help support the arts, culture and tourism sector emerge from the […]
Article written for Campaign - published 8 April 2020 There is no corner of the world that has been left untouched by the coronavirus. It is taking lives and may yet be the cause of the greatest economic crash since the great depression of the 1930s. Alongside this, we have seen another virulent and damaging […]
Last week was English Tourism week and on the Friday I met with Sandra Matthews-Marsh, the chief executive of Visit Kent, to discuss the importance of this vital industry to our county. Tourism is one of our largest employers, and accounts for around 12% of all jobs in Kent. Whilst visitors from the rest of […]
This week the latest survey published by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) shows more growing confidence as the economy recovers. Small businesses collectively are the major employers in this country, as more people work for them than for large firms. They are also closer to the ground and more sensitive to changes in the […]
On Friday last week in the House of Commons, I asked the Minister of State for the Arts, Ed Vaizey MP, if he supported our campaign to save the Banksy artwork, that was recently removed from Payers Park, for the people of Folkestone. Below you can read the account taken from the official parliamentary record […]
I was very disturbed to hear that yesterday the Banksy artwork on the wall of Palace Amusements in Folkestone was removed at the request of the Godden family who own the building. It is their intention that the artwork should be sold at private auction. The Godden family have raised concerns about the maintenance of […]
Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport joined me in Folkestone last week for a guided tour of the Triennial Arts exhibition, with Roger De Haan and the Creative Foundation’s chief executive, Alastair Upton. We visited a number of the most popular works including the new Payers Park by the London […]
My motivation for getting involved in politics was to use the position of being Member of Parliament to work to help everyone have the chance to achieve what they want to in life. At the last general election four years ago, the greatest threat to the opportunities people wanted to pursue was the weak state of the […]
The Folkestone Triennial is here again and at the launch last week it was confirmed that Yoko Ono, one of the exhibiting artists, will be visiting the town in a few weeks’ time, and that she is particularly keen to see the Step Short memorial arch on The Leas, which was opened by Prince Harry […]