This Queen’s Speech is about recognising and grasping the opportunities that lie ahead for the United Kingdom as we leave the European Union.

All of us have been shocked and saddened by the horror and tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire in London last week. As I write at the weekend following the fire, many facts remain unknown and it is absolutely right that a full public inquiry will take place to leave no stone unturned in establishing the facts. While lessens need to be learnt, it is already clear that something, or more likely a terrible and deadly combination of several things, went badly wrong. There is potential for criminal charges so I will refrain from speculating as to the causes and why the fire spread so quickly in a way that building designs and safety regulations should never have allowed possible.

The first official talks to leave the European Union have now begun.

New figures have shown that the number of people in work has reached a record high.

Crawley will be very well served with the re-election of Henry Smith as our MP. I was delighted to see Henry winning with over 50% of the Crawley vote, which was only the second time in the last four decades that any candidate has polled over 50% in any Crawley parliamentary election. Knowing him as I do, I genuinely believe that Henry Smith was by far the best candidate who is also the most committed to our town.

Henry Smith has been re-elected as Member of Parliament for Crawley to serve a third term in the House of Commons.

This Thursday’s general election sees the UK decide its course for the next five years. Not since 1983 have I seen anything that remotely resembles this election and history seems to be repeating itself. I remember 1983 only too well, when the Labour party had lurched to the far-left with Michael Foot as leader, who was also viewed by many as being wholly unsuitable to become Prime Minister.

If we get Brexit right, we can do great things as a country. Vote for Theresa May and her Conservative team to deliver a brighter future for everyone.

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Theresa May made clear that enough is enough – we cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are when it comes to Islamist extremism.
She set out 4 things that need to change. Please share them today.