On Friday morning last week, I visited St Eanswythe’s primary school in Folkestone, where I was given an excellent tour by the headteacher Jane Garrett, and heard about the pupils recent sporting successes. I then met with the headteacher of the Mundella primary school in Blackbull Road, Nigel Pantling, where I was shown some of […]
Standing under the Step Short, First World War memorial arch on The Leas in Folkestone, the decision we have to make as a country on 23rd June seems small. During the First World War there were ten million movements of soldiers through the town, to France and the trenches of the Western Front. For many, marching […]
As if further proof were required, the news that 14 Russian athletes slated to compete at this summer’s Olympic Gameshave returned positive urine samples for banned substances should now put the debate to bed: there is absolutely no way Russia’s track and field stars can be allowed to compete in Rio this summer. Rocked by […]
When we send our children to school, we expect them to get an education. Should we not similarly expect that those we send to young offender’s institutions (YOIs) should leave rehabilitated? Changes to policing – such as scrapping arrest targets and antisocial-behaviour orders (ASBOS), plus more effective and collaborative interventions by local authorities, the police […]
On Friday last week I joined the Chair of the Environment Agency, Emma Howard Boyd, for the opening of the Broomhill Sands and Jury’s Gap coastal defence scheme. This completes a £30million investment which will protect thousands of homes on Romney Marsh. It also follows the £60million spent by the government on building the new […]
Shepway District Council has announced proposals to submit a bid to the government for support to create a new ‘garden town’ on the land surrounding Otterpool Park Farm, close to the south side of junction 11 of the M20. The council has my full support in its decision to launch this debate, but it is […]
On Friday I visited Dungeness B nuclear power station to meet a group of apprentices learning their trade with EDF and to answer their questions. Dungeness B is a major source of jobs in the constituency, directly employing 550 people and supporting another 200 contractors. These jobs are particularly vital to the Marsh economy, which […]
The migration crisis in Europe is a humanitarian disaster, caused by the civil wars in nations like Syria and Libya which have directly contributed to millions of people becoming displaced and seeking safe haven in other countries. This is the largest movement of refugees in Europe since the Second World War. The migration crisis has […]
We have many choices in life, but one thing we have very little say on is when we become ill or need medical assistance. That is why in our manifesto at the last general election, and in my leaflets in Folkestone and Hythe, we pledged to deliver a 7 day a week NHS, so that […]
I recently met with Kent's 'Rural plc', an organisation that promotes investment in countryside and farming businesses across the county. Farming in Kent is a big business. Within the county the farming sector alone is worth £5.4billion, employs 85,000 people and, were it to be viewed as a company, would rank 57th in the FTSE […]