Few of us will ever forget watching the majestic and dignified scenes of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on 19th September. It was an occasion which united millions of Britons in prayer, thanksgiving and reflection, as well as capturing the attention of even greater audiences watching around the world. On the Saturday evening before […]
Every Member of Parliament knows that the question you are most often asked, and particularly when visiting primary schools, is ‘have you met The Queen.’ I am proud to be able to say that I did briefly on two occasions, when despite having hundreds of people presented to her, she still sparkled for each of […]
On 5 September the Conservative Party will announce the result of the election for its new leader, the person who will then become our new Prime Minister. For me, that has to be our Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss. I have known Liz since we were university undergraduates at Oxford, and we both entered the House […]
Last Sunday tens of millions of us watched the England Women’s Football team triumph in the final of the European Championships at Wembley Stadium. This was a great moment for English football as we secured our first senior tournament win since 1966. I would like to send my congratulations to the manager Sarina Wiegman, team […]
This past weekend we have again seen major delays to passenger and freight traffic seeking to make their journeys to France across the Dover straits. This was caused by the combination of very high levels of holiday traffic, due to the end of the school year, and also the understaffing by the French authorities of […]
It is often said that a week is a long time in politics and the recent turn of events has certainly demonstrated how quickly things can change. The resignation of many government Ministers required a reorganisation of the administration. In that regard, last Friday I was honoured to be asked by the Prime Minister to […]
Last week’s RMT rail strike caused huge disruption across the country, including in Kent, where most local services were cancelled, and many stations closed. This has stopped some people, including front line public sector workers, from being able to get to work, and also made the journeys harder for some students sitting exams; a concern […]
Last week I was glad to welcome the Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, Kwasi Kwarteng MP, to Folkestone. We met with Sir Roger De Haan and Alastair Upton, the Chief Executive of Creative Folkestone, at The Quarterhouse theatre and visited different locations in the town’s Creative Quarter, including the new F51 […]
The UK has a proud history of welcoming those in desperate need of help. We are a fundamentally generous nation recognised as a beacon of humanity, openness, and opportunity around the world. You only need to look at the enthusiastic response to the Homes for Ukraine Scheme to see that we are a nation serious […]
Friday 8 April 2022 Over the last week we have seen some of the most challenging road conditions in Kent in the past seven years. The M20 has been closed to coastbound traffic between junctions 8 and 11, and that section of the motorway is being used to hold nearly 2,000 queuing lorries. These queues […]