On Friday last week, I was delighted to welcome back to Folkestone, Tracey Crouch, the Minister for Sport, who went to school in the town. We visited the Folkestone Sports Centre and the Three Hills Sports complex on Cheriton Road. The Shepway Sports Trust also gave a presentation on their work across the district to improve the rates […]
Folkestone's Gurkha memorial statue was unveiled by Joanna Lumley on Sunday in glorious autumn sunshine, with Sujata Koirala, the First Lady of Nepal and leader of the Nepali Congress, also amongst a number of distinguished guests. The statue which stands in the town's Garden of Remembrance was sculpted by Rebecca Hawkins who was also present […]
The Rugby World Cup has captured the imagination of sports fans across the country. More people than ever before have bought tickets to watch the matches, and the games themselves have received the largest television audience in World Cup history. Whilst it is great for rugby fans that England is hosting the tournament the real […]
Last Friday I performed the official opening of the Folkestone Pop-up Shop in Guildhall Street. This idea has been taken forward by Ray Johnson and the Folkestone Town Team, and is an innovative way to get empty shops back into use and help new businesses to start trading on the high street. The Pop-up shop […]
‘Art Buff’, the mural created for Folkestone by the internationally renowned artist Banksy is to return to the town. This is excellent news and our thanks are due to Sir Roger De Haan and the Creative Foundation for their tenacious legal battle to secure its future. Last year when the work was created by Banksy […]
Britain has a proud tradition in providing a home for genuine asylum seekers and refugees, and delivering international aid around the world. According to the Red Cross, last year 126,000 refugees were living in the UK and more than 30,000 people entered the asylum system, seeking asylum in this country. According to figures from the […]
The House of Commons returned this week after the summer recess and business has been dominated by the consequences of the migration and refugee crisis in Europe; an issue we have also been working on over the last few months. I was in the chamber on Monday to listen to the Prime Minister setting out the package of […]
This summer we have seen just how connected everyday life in Folkestone and Hythe is to the conflicts that are ripping apart countries like Syria, Iraq and Libya. It might be tempting for some people to believe that no matter how tragic, these are troubles in far away countries that have little to do with […]
On Thursday 1st October at the Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone I will be holding my third annual jobs fair, and this year there will be a particular focus on apprenticeships. Whilst as usual, there will be advice and opportunities available for all job seekers, the early autumn is an excellent time of the year for […]
Eurotunnel has confirmed that the new security measures at Coquelles in France are making a real difference to preventing migrants from breaking into the Channel Tunnel terminal. The number of migrants seeking to enter the tunnel in this way has fallen from as many as 2,000 per night, earlier in the summer, to around 150 […]