As this is my first article as the MP for Folkestone and Hythe I would like to thank everyone who supported my campaign, and promise that I will work hard for the whole constituency, however people voted.
It is hard to describe the great surge of emotions I felt standing on the stage of the Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone last Thursday night, to hear the result of the general election in our constituency. After four years as a parliamentary candidate, and four weeks of a hard fought campaign, it was certainly a mixture of gratitude for the support, responsibility for the trust placed in me and anticipation for the work ahead.
The declaration of the result came at the end of a long day, where along with Shepway District Councillor Alan Clifton-Holt, I visited each of the 64 polling stations across the constituency, from Selsted to Dungeness and Brook to East Folkestone. This journey started at 7am and finished after 9pm, requiring over 400 miles of travel. But of all of the encounters that day, one that sits strongly in the memory was with a woman outside of the Scout Hall in New Romney who told me, ‘we’ve voted for you, now go and change the world for us.’ That is the responsibility of all new MPs, to use our position not only to champion the interests of our community in Parliament, but also to support polices that can change our society, and ultimately our world.
This election was all about giving our country a new direction and tackling some of the major issues that threaten to hold us back; like controlling the national debt, creating jobs, respecting the lifetime of work and sacrifices made by older people and protecting our borders from illegal migration. Whilst the Conservatives received strong support across Kent, the results were less clear across the whole country, and at the time of writing this article it remains uncertain whether we will have a new Government, or the old one back again, propped up by some of the other parties.
I was determined after the election to get down to work straight away. On Saturday morning I completed my first constituency surgeries across Romney Marsh, starting in Brookland. The first people I saw were David and Zara Rees-Jones who run the Royal Oak pub in the village. This was followed by surgery meetings in Lydd, New Romney, St Mary’s Bay and Dymchurch.
On Sunday, along with my wife Sarah, and our children Claudia and Hugo we went along to the Elham Farmers Market which takes place in the courtyard behind the Rose and Crown. I have always been an enthusiast for local food markets, and you can find out more about this one at www.elhamfarmersmarket.co.uk
On Monday I made the journey to the House of Commons to start my work representing you in Parliament, and I look forward to sharing my thoughts on this with you in this column in the weeks ahead.