Today the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne has re-stated the Government's committment to new nuclear power stations. In particular, he has stated that: "We are on course to make sure that the first new nuclear power station opens on time in 2018... There are a number of sites that have […]
On Sunday morning in Folkestone I took part in the second ‘Step Short’ parade, to commemorate the nine million men who passed through the harbour during the First World War. Folkestone not only played a pivotal part in the war effort, but for many men was their last taste of home, before leaving for the […]
Last week David Cameron gave a major speech outlining the Government’s plans to create a ‘Big Society’. At the heart of this is the idea that rather than trying to do and control everything, in some areas the Government should take a step back and let people decide how to do things for themselves. Local […]
Improving opportunties for people through education is one of the the top priorities for the new Government, and on Monday we debated and voted on one of the key measures from our manifesto. This was the Academies Bill which will give people powers to set up new schools, and give more powers to existing schools […]
This week we have received the terrible news of the death of three servicemen of the Royal Gurkha Rifles, and the serious wounding of four others at Nahr-e Saraj, in Helmand province in Afghanistan. This regiment, whose headquarters is at Shorncliffe Barracks, has become an integral part of our life in our community. All of […]
The question of whether we have a new power station built at Dungeness is one of the most important we face for our local economy. A ‘Dungeness C’ would create thousands of new jobs during its building and operation and in the current economic climate it would be a great loss to the area if […]
On Monday night we voted in the House of Commons to approve the measures contained in the Budget, which was probably one of the most significant for 30 years. The country has run out of money, and one pound in every four that the last Government was spending had been borrowed. We all know that […]
By the time you read this you will be in the privileged position of knowing the contents of the Chancellor’s Budget, which sadly I am not at the time of writing. So I will be discussing that in next week’s column, and will look forward to receiving your reaction to it as well. Last week […]
On Friday evening last week I joined the Kent Police response team for their late evening patrol in Folkestone, between 9pm and midnight. The team are the first respond to emergencies and also have the responsibility of policing the town centre and harbour area. Fortunately, whilst I was with them, it was a relatively quiet […]
As your new MP I am keen to hear first hand the experiences people and businesses have been facing through the recession, and listen to ideas about how the Government can best support recovery, and also the individuals and organisations who are working everyday to improve their community. On Friday I met with David Willis […]