For each week over the last few months another critical decision on Brexit seems to have been brought forward. I know from speaking to people right across the constituency last week, at events from Dungeness to Folkestone, and Hythe to Stelling Minnis that we desperately need to find resolution on this. At the time of […]
As it stands, the default legal position is that the UK will leave the EU without a deal on 12th April. So far, all attempts to find a consensus for a deal in the House of Commons have failed. At the time of writing this article the Prime Minister’s withdrawal agreement has been defeated three […]
We’ve got to get on with Brexit. We cannot continue going round and round in circles discussing and debating the Prime Minister’s deal when it is clear there is not enough support in the House of Commons for it to pass. The consequence of this political fact, which has been clear since before Christmas, is […]
Operation Stack returned to Kent’s roads last week in response to delays in freight crossing the Channel, caused by Storm Gareth. It was a reminder both of the need for a permanent solution to the problems created when lorries are unable to leave the country, and also that this can occur by natural events, not […]
On Friday last week I chaired the first meeting of the Folkestone and Hythe District Council's ‘accelerated delivery board’, which was held at the Civic Centre in Folkestone. The board brings together representatives from the District and Count Councils, the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, Network Rail, and some of the major development projects in […]
Like every previous major European negotiation, our discussions with the EU over our future relationship for after we leave, are running right down to the final few weeks before the deadline. However, we must remember that we do not need their permission to leave. That decision was taken by the British people in the referendum, […]
The government’s contingency planning in case of a no deal Brexit will start to take physical form this week, as roadworks begin between junctions 8 and 9 of the M20 to install a steel barrier that will divide the London bound carriageway. This barrier will allow the deployment of a contraflow system with two lanes […]
This week the House of Commons will once again debate and vote on the European Union Withdrawal Agreement. For reasons that I have previously set out in this column, if the Prime Minister presents the same deal to parliament again, I will vote against it, as I did before. I don’t believe that it is […]
Today the House of Commons will finally have the chance to express its view on the government’s proposed European Union withdrawal agreement. My own opinion remains unchanged since the proposals were first published, and I will be voting against it. The withdrawal agreement commits us to enter into a transition period when we leave the […]
This week the government started testing its plans for managing road freight in Kent in case there are delays in goods leaving the Port of Dover or Channel Tunnel after Brexit. Before Christmas, with other Kent MPs I attended a briefing with the Roads Minister, Jesse Norman, along with Highways England and the Police to […]