Dear Friends and Residents

I am writing further to my bulletin of last week to update you on the latest Government advice and local action (see ‘Supporting our Most Vulnerable Citizens’ below) in our collective national effort to stop the spread of Coronavirus.

Dear Friends and Residents  

The international outbreak of Coronavirus is a huge challenge, and rightly our Government is treating the issue with great care and seriousness. Their action plan published last week, sets out how they will respond to the outbreak, in four phases: contain, delay, research and mitigate.

Readers will no doubt be aware that last month was the wettest February on record as the UK was battered by storms Ciara, Dennis and Jorge in successive weekends.

The positive influence of inbound peoples from all around the world to this country is one of the great strengths of modern Britain.  Our healthy and diverse population produces leaders in every aspect of our global society, and long may that continue.

Many of us are still haunted by the chaos that gripped Kent during the summer of 2015 when disruption at the Port of Dover led to endless weeks of congestion due to Operation Stack.

Maidstone’s road network is unique. It is where four of Kent’s arterial routes meet and it encompasses four junctions of the M20.

Rough sleeping is a complex and multi-faceted problem and there is, of course, no silver bullet solution. The issue can only be solved sustainably if its root causes are properly tackled.

For at least the last five years, the most persistent  issue raised with me by the people of Maidstone & the Weald has been concern about excessive housing development, particularly when it isn’t accompanied by the required infrastructure.   It was at the forefront of my discussions on the do

On Monday this week I joined our Prime Minister and 16 African Heads of State in London at our first UK-Africa Trade and Investment Summit.