The elections for our district, town and parish councils this month have led to some big changes. Many well-known and long serving councillors have departed, and new candidates from all parties have stepped up to take their places. Before discussing the outcome of those elections, I would like to say thank you to all of […]
On Tuesday 2 May I was honoured to join members of both Houses of Parliament at a reception for King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Westminster Hall. It was in this historic building that Coronation banquets were held by Monarchs for centuries. It was also the place where King Charles I was sentenced to […]
On 4th April I spoke at the meeting of the Folkestone and District Council planning committee in favour of the outline planning application for the Otterpool Park garden town development. Planning matters are reserved for local councils to consider but such was the significance of this application that I wanted to add my voice, as […]
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, […]