A group of 15 young people from Maidstone have been running a social action campaign as part of their National Citizens Service summer project.  The goal was to raise awareness of mental health issues and the services available for younger people in the Maidstone area.

On this page last week, I mentioned the recent warm weather in the UK, with a passively positive reference to the onset of our national summer holidays.

Last week’s record-breaking warm weather heralded the start of the school summer holidays and with it, the zenith of Kent’s tourism season.

After two long and intense months of leadership campaigning we have a new Prime Minister.  I know Boris Johnson to be a warm, engaging and charismatic man who is always fizzing with ideas and enthusiasm.  As Mayor of London, over two terms, he demonstrated a special ability to lead, unite and ins

I was in Westminster when I heard the news; first an excited email from my Mum in Sutton Valence, and then one from my friend Cllr Louise Brice in Staplehurst.  The appointment of Rose Hudson-Wilkin as the next Bishop of Dover was the subject; their joy was in seeing another bastion of inequality

Shortly after becoming MP for Maidstone & The Weald in 2010 I was invited to become Honorary Vice-President of the Maidstone MENCAP Trust.  I felt honoured to be asked to take over Ann Widdecombe’s former role and I accepted immediately.

Something remarkable happened last Sunday afternoon. I joined a record 6.9 million viewers to witness women’s football leap to a new level in a match that offered drama, controversy and entertainment in full measure. 

One in two of us will have to directly contend with cancer during our lifetimes, and all of us will be indirectly affected, one way or another. My family was confronted with that harsh reality 30 months ago when my husband was diagnosed.

For the second time since I became an MP, I share with my colleagues the profound responsibility of choosing two new leadership candidates for my Party, one of whom will become the next Prime Minister of our country.

The partnership between the UK and the USA is known as the ‘Special Relationship’ for good reason. Over many decades, the USA has been our strongest ally and the close co-operation between our two countries underpins global security and prosperity.