Wednesday 18 May 2021 On Monday this week we saw another significant step in our route out of the coronavirus social restrictions. It’s great that restaurants, cafes and pubs can now re-open for indoor service, especially given the slightly mixed weather we have experienced in recent weeks. The rule of allowing six people to meet […]
Wednesday 12 May 2021 EDF energy, the operators of Dungeness B nuclear power station are expected in the next few months to decide on its future. Its two reactors began producing electricity in 1983 and 1985 respectively and currently have an operating license to continue until 2028. Dungeness B has been offline for planned maintenance […]
On Wednesday this week, along with other Kent MPs, I met with the Chief Constable of Kent Police, Alan Pughsley, for a briefing on the murder investigation following the death of the police community support officer (PCSO) Julia James. Her body was discovered on 27 April in Akholt Wood, in Snowdown, between Canterbury and Dover. She […]
Wednesday 28 April 2021 This week I met with Maria Landers, the Customer Service Manager at Folkestone Job Centre, to discuss the Government’s Kickstart programme, which has been created to support young people looking for work, and to help employers to take on new staff. Kickstart provides funding to create new jobs for 16 to […]
Wednesday 21 April 2021 On Monday I joined the twenty-seven million people who have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. I was administered with the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine at St Thomas’s hospital in London, just over the river from the House of Commons. The roll out of the vaccine is the best way […]
Wednesday 14 April 2021 On Friday 9th of April we learnt the sad news of the death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His life had been one of dedicated service to this country, as consort to Her Majesty The Queen for sixty-nine years, a decorated Royal Naval officer serving during the […]
Wednesday 7 April 2021 The Cultural Recovery Fund created by the government to provide financial support for cultural and heritage organisations across the country has been vital during this year of Covid-19. I was pleased to see on Good Friday the announcement of further grants for our area, worth over half a million pounds. This […]
Wednesday 31 March 2021 On Monday this week we took the next positive step in our roadmap to lift the COVID-19 social contact restrictions. It is great to see that grassroots sport is back and that people can once again meet in public spaces and outdoors in their gardens in groups of six, or as […]
This week we mark the anniversary of the first national COVID lockdown. It’s been a year like no other, which has affected all of our lives. Our first thoughts are with the people we have lost to the coronavirus. Nationally it has claimed the lives of 148,125 people, and in the Folkestone and Hythe district […]
We have all been moved by the tragic death of Sarah Everard, and the discovery of her body in woods near Ashford. Given that a man has now been charged with her murder and will stand trial later in the year, it would not be appropriate now to discuss the specifics of this case. However, […]