Thank you for voting in Hammersmith and Chiswick 

Thank you to everyone who voted in Hammersmith and Chiswick last Thursday. A special thanks if you voted for me, but my job as MP is to represent all constituents so I am grateful to everyone who took part in the election.

It was hard fought campaign but a good humoured one.  It ended with a swing to Labour of 6% and a majority of 15,000 over the Conservatives in second place

I was delighted to see my neighbouring MPs Ruth Cadbury and Rupa Huq re-elected, alongside new candidates Joe Powell in Kensington and Rachel Blake in Cities of London and Westminster. It was especially gratifying to see Ben Coleman elected as the Labour MP for Chelsea and Fulham. Ben fought a tremendous campaign to win by 152 votes.

This is the first time ever that Chelsea has been represented by a Labour MP, an indication of the sea-change we’ve seen in politics. Conservative seats that were considered unassailable are now represented by Labour MPs, and during the night of the election there were many ‘Portillo moments’ featuring the likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg, Penny Mordaunt and even Liz Truss.

The task facing the new Labour government is huge, with Keir Starmer inheriting from the Tories a battered economy, a cost-of-living crisis and a health service that is falling apart at the seams.

The first few days in Government have shown how serious Keir is about his new role. The unworkable and inhumane Rwanda scheme has been scrapped, he has told Netanyahu that there must be a ceasefire in Gaza, and he has placed people with real experience and knowledge into key ministerial posts.

Getting to know Chiswick

I have written in the Chiswick Calendar this week about how pleased I am to represent such a friendly and interesting part of London. I am already getting to grips with a number of local issues like the future of Chiswick Tower.

I am sorry to have lost West Kensington, Fulham Reach, Wormholt and College Park & Old Oak from the constituency, though delighted to still represent White City, Shepherds Bush and Hammersmith.

I think the parts of the new constituency work well together.  I am uniquely privileged to be MP for such a diverse part of London with many problems to solve but many more opportunities and great communities.