Westminster has been a sombre place for the past few weeks, with the death of my close friend James Brokenshire and the appalling murder of Sir David Amess. It is particularly tragic that these were two of the most decent people you could ever hope to have as colleagues, both of them hugely popular in Parliament on both sides of the Chamber, and in their constituencies. I shall miss them both.
On a happier note it has been a pleasure to be out in the constituency since the removal of restrictions, to visit many local organisations and of course see many of you around the place.
Earlier this month, I also attended the Conservative Party Conference held in Manchester and it was great to meet organisations in person such as Alzheimer’s Society, Macmillan, Guide Dogs, Marie Curie and British Heart Foundation, all who do great work for the community!
Additionally, many of you who follow my social media will be aware that last month I joined a group of MPs to meet Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities to discuss the planning system. I know many of you have expressed your concerns about this and we all know that this is a long-running issue for all of us in and around Ashford. We are a desirable area where many families want to come and live, and a perfect location for those who love the countryside. We made the point to Michael that any new system needed to leave control over important decisions on which areas would be allowed for development in the hands of local representatives. My main concern is that the total housing stock is nearly 30 million, so whether we build 250,000 or 300,000 houses a year has only a minimal impact on the objective of trying to help our young people get on the property ladder. I was pleased to express our concerns on this topic and I’ll continue to make this case on behalf of our area.
Keep an eye out for my announcement on who has won my Litter Angel competition which will be shortly revealed
