The Folkestone Library in Grace Hill is an important community building that is part of our cultural heritage. I want to see it not just survive the current issues it faces over the costs of necessary repairs, but also to thrive in the future. When libraries like this were first created, they were often the […]
Last week the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt used his budget statement to set out major reforms to childcare, support households with high energy bills, create incentives for business investment and also to establish a clear pathway towards future investment in the UK nuclear industry. The background to this budget is very different from […]
On Monday this week the House of Commons debated the government’s new Illegal Immigration Bill. This follows the recent announcement by the Home Secretary of the new measures to be put in place, in order to stop the migrant boat crossings in the English Channel. The UK is rightly proud of the fair way in […]
On 1 March I met with the Environment Agency to discuss the sea water quality at St Mary’s Bay, on the Hythe Bay coast. It has recently been reported that, according to the Agency, the water quality there is ‘poor’ and the advice is not to swim. This is a localised problem, and the sea […]
Folkestone last week received a multi-million pound regeneration boost from the government’s Levelling Up fund. Following a successful bid from Folkestone and Hythe District Council, we will receive an over £19million grant from the government which will be invested in improving the town centre. Over the past decade we have seen a tremendous regeneration of […]
On Monday this week I attended a meeting of the Cabinet of Kent County Council, at the invitation of the Leader, Cllr Roger Gough, to discuss the future of nuclear power at Dungeness. Along with Kent, and Folkestone and Hythe District Council, I am determined to do all I can to secure the long-term future […]
On Wednesday this week we received the tragic news of deaths in the Channel after a small boat carrying migrants to the UK got into difficulties. This follows a similar incident just over a year ago when 27 people drowned in just one day. I would like to thank the Coastguard, RNLI Lifeboats, the police, […]
This week the Online Safety Bill returned to parliament, for the first time since the government changes of the summer and autumn. As readers of this column will know this is an issue I have been campaigning on for years and was for a time also the responsible Minister for this Bill at the Department […]
Last week the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, presented his autumn statement to the House of Commons, setting out the difficult decisions we have to take over the next two years, to bring down inflation, ensure public spending is at sustainable levels, and support those who need it most. The problems we face are […]
This week the Home Secretary Suella Braverman has signed an agreement with her counterpart in France, Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin to increase efforts on the French coast to prevent small boats bringing migrants across the Channel to the UK. This will increase the number of French police patrolling along their coast to 300, and for the […]