May 2024
========


 


It’s official! The General Election has now been called.

 

Today is the last day I am officially your MP, and from tomorrow I will be a parliamentary candidate until the election on the 4th July. 

 

It is the honour of my life serving as Faversham and Mid Kent’s MP. From Downswood, to Detling, to Boughton-Under Blean – I have worked in every corner of our wonderful constituency since being elected in 2015.

 

I have met and worked with the most brilliant people. Parish councils, charities, councillors, businesses, schools, GPs, residents, and so many others. Together we have made such a difference.

 

We got a [Medical School set up]([link removed]) here in Kent. We got [upgrades to the A249/M2]([link removed]) junction and commitments on [Blue Bell Hill and Brenley Corner]([link removed]). We got [mandatory housing targets removed]([link removed]) for the county, and a new [Nature Recovery Strategy]([link removed]) launched for Kent.

 

We got the [law changed to protect new build estates]([link removed]) from unfair management fees. We got a new [banking hub in Faversham]([link removed]), unprecedented [support for local farmers]([link removed]), and we [saved our local tips]([link removed]). And we got families and businesses through the pandemic and [supported them with the cost of living]([link removed]).

 

But we know there’s so much more to do. I want a [Kent Dental School]([link removed]-) to join our new Kent Medical School. I want [improvements to local services before we get any more housing]([link removed]) – not after. I want to [keep up the amazing work protecting and restoring our local environment]([link removed]). I want even more [investment in our schools]([link removed]), and I want [broadband to every not-spot]([link removed]) in the constituency.

 

I want [our roads repaired]([link removed]). I want an Urgent Treatment Centre for Maidstone and a [GP back in Teynham]([link removed]). I want Faversham’s [businesses to be better supported]([link removed]) by our councils, and I want a[nti-social behaviour stamped out]([link removed]) in our communities. I want all this and more besides.

 

I know how to get these things done. I know who we need to talk to, what needs to be done, and who we have to convince. And I want to make sure they happen.

 

I have also had the huge honour of serving in Government over the past 5 years. For most of that time I have served as a minister in the Health Department, including through the pandemic – an experience I’ll never forget.


I first stood to be an MP because of my parents. Both of them were NHS doctors, working in a health service which desperately needed reform. Over the last 5 years I have had the huge privilege to make some of those reforms a reality. 

 

We are building a healthcare system which is closer to home, and easier to access – where we catch conditions quicker and treat things at an earlier stage. This will help keep people out of hospital and give people so much more control over their own care.

 

We’re already making fantastic progress on this locally – like the new eye clinic at Faversham Medical Centre and the New Diagnostic Centre at Maidstone Hospital – and there’s so much more to come. 

 

In the last five years our country has been through the most challenging time since the Second World War. Countries across the world have been hit by the worst pandemic in a century, a global wave of mass migration, and surging energy prices.

 

But the UK has turned a corner. Inflation has returned to normal, our economy is growing faster than America, France and Germany’s, and wages are rising. And while illegal immigration rose across Europe last year, it fell by a third here in the UK.

 

This hasn’t happened by accident. It’s happened because of tough decisions taken by Rishi Sunak, following a clear plan. 

 

Our children are now the best readers in the Western world, we are investing in infrastructure across the UK, and we’re becoming global leaders in growth sectors like tech and life sciences. 

 

We've been through difficult times together, now it's time to keep on going.


My 5 priorities for Faversham and Mid Kent
==========================================


**More GP and NHS Dentist appointments**
----------------------------------------


Kent has 200,000 more GP appointments each month, and I'm calling for a new Kent Dental School.

[Find out more here]([link removed])


**More police, quicker response times**
---------------------------------------


We've got record police numbers in Kent, and I want faster action in rural areas and on anti-social behaviour.

[Read more here]([link removed])


**Better schools and opportunities for our kids**
-------------------------------------------------


Our schools are flying up the international league tables, and I want to bring opportunities to local kids.

[Find out more]([link removed])


**Protecting our countryside**
------------------------------


I'm bringing together communities across the constituency to launch local environmental projects.

[Find out how to get involved]([link removed])


**Helping local businesses succeed and grow**
---------------------------------------------


The UK economy has turned a corner, and I'm helping our thriving mix of local businesses succeed. 

[Read more here]([link removed])


Faversham and Mid Kent News
---------------------------


**Artist Graham gets to work on Faversham's underpass**
-------------------------------------------------------


Our project to restore Faversham's underpass is nearly complete, with a wonderful mural being installed.

[Find out more]([link removed])


**My plan to crack down on catapult attacks**
---------------------------------------------


We've seen a shocking spate of catapult attacks on pets and wildlife recently, and I'm taking action.

[Read my letter to the Home Office]([link removed])


**A fairer plan for immigration**
---------------------------------


In the face of huge opposition, we are creating an asylum and immigration system which is fairer for everyone.

[Read my article here]([link removed])


**Kent's pothole blitz begins**
-------------------------------


Kent's roads are in serious need of attention, and we've been allocated an extra £135 million by the Transport Department to blitz our potholes.

[Find out how to nominate your road]([link removed])


**Government funding to catch fly-tippers in Swale**
----------------------------------------------------


Fly-tipping rightly boils people's blood, and we're getting £33,000 in Swale for new cameras to catch people.

[Find out more]([link removed])


If there's anything else I can help you with please email me at [email protected]

Please pass this email onto anyone you think might be interested and encourage them to sign up to these newsletters on my website, [here]([link removed]).


*Copyright © 2023 Member of Parliament for Faversham and Mid-Kent, All rights reserved.*
 

House of Commons, SW1A 0AA, London

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