I get (and reply to!) a lot of email each week, and some is easier to deal with than others.

This morning I received an email about fireworks from a local resident generated from an RSPCA campaign. The email said:

Dear Councillor,

I am writing to you as I am an extremely concerned resident in your council area. My concern is about the misuse of fireworks and their impact on animals. According to a recent poll 52% of UK Adults will be having displays at home with friends and family, a 23% increase on 2019 polling results.

Responding to the government's announcement on GP services, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care Spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said:

"These changes are a sticking plaster which won't address the GP shortage crisis that is leaving patients struggling to get appointments.

"The Conservatives have already missed their own targets to recruit and train more GPs. Now they are coming up with plans to name and shame GPs, which risks driving even more doctors away from the profession.

The Government has missed its 2020 fuel poverty targets and is already at "high risk" of failing to meet its goals for 2025, a report by the Committee on Fuel Poverty has found.

Commenting on the findings, Liberal Democrat Leader and former Energy Secretary Ed Davey MP said:

"The Conservatives are failing millions of hard working families and leaving them in fuel poverty at a time when energy bills are rocketing.

Article on the front page of today's Folkestone and Hythe Express on bin collections being discussed at last week's Folkestone & Hythe District Full Council Meeting. It quotes Cabinet Member for Waste Stuart Peall responding to a question from Councillor Jackie Meade on bin collection problems saying:

97% of households across England and Wales responded to Census 2021 to ensure they count when it comes to local services - and almost 90% of them did so online.

Initial findings out today show online take up of the first digital-first census far exceeded expectations, with more than 22 million responses submitted using the web questionnaire.

Not before time: we're back!

A regular meet-up on the first Wednesday of every morth for Liberal Democrat members, supporters and the Lib Dem curious in the Folkestone and Hythe area!

Simply come along for a social drink and a chat: no speeches, no leaflet delivery. It's a "buy your own" event (sorry!) but come along and say hello to our Councillors, campaigners, members and friends.

At the Folkestone and Hythe District Council meeting last night, a vote to delay the removal of vegetation from the Princes Parade site until the current Public Inquiry into moving the road has given its verdict was lost by 12 votes to 14.

The motion, moved by Green Group Leader Lesley Whybrow and seconded by Lib Dem Group Leader Tim Prater said:

The government must ensure that health and care staff, teachers and other essential workers are given priority access to fuel, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has said.

The former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change warned that the government mustn't "allow their incompetence to damage people's health and undermine our children's education."