‘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 […]
We have seen a big improvement to Kent’s roads over the last ten days since the lifting of the Operation Stack restrictions. This is mainly a result of the improved situation in Calais where there have been far fewer disturbances to the services through the Channel Tunnel, or from the Port of Calais, than in […]
Following the chaos on Kent’s roads this summer it is clear that we cannot go on as we are with the M20 closed for three to four days a week, for weeks on end, with the gridlock this causes on many of the county’s key roads. We have lobbied government Ministers and made the case […]
On Monday evening I spoke with the Transport Minister Andrew Jones MP, to express to him the huge frustration that everyone in Kent feels at the on-going gridlock caused by Operation Stack. He agreed with me that the current situation is completely unacceptable, and that new methods for managing the traffic to and from the […]
The imposition of Operation Stack this summer has been completely intolerable and we will continue to press for more to be done to protect Kent from it and keep our roads open. On Tuesday I raised this in parliament with the Home Secretary, and on Thursday I will be asking the Secretary of State for […]