Local Elections
With only hours until the polls open on Thursday, 7 May, I have been working across Hammersmith, Chiswick and Shepherds Bush, joining our enthusiastic Labour candidates on the doorstep.
It has been a pleasure to support them, but also a great chance for me to speak to residents and find out about the issues, both local and national, that are of concern to them.
I believe local politics can provide a relief from and solution to the issues of extremism and toxicity that can infect national politics, largely because of the candidates themselves. Most are not career politicians, but local people driven by a genuine desire to make a difference for their own communities.
Our politics needs more people with that level of dedication; they are exactly who this election should be about. Local Labour councillors make it far easier to get things done, using their roots in the community to flag issues to me long before they ever hit my inbox. By working constructively with Labour MPs and the Council, they serve as a much more effective force for our area.
It makes a difference who runs our local councils. They are responsible for many of the services people rely on every day, from care and housing to the local environment and community safety. Of course, people also use these elections to express a view about what is happening nationally and internationally. But in this case, the record locally is worth looking at in its own right.
In Hammersmith & Fulham we have a council that leads the way in compassion. It remains the only council in England to have abolished charges for home care, removing a massive financial burden from our most vulnerable residents all while charging the third lowest council tax in the country.
The council also focuses on supporting families, providing universal free breakfasts for primary school pupils and a wider package of cost-of-living support.
Housing is another of the council’s priorities, backed by over £500 million of investment in housing and estates, improving conditions for existing tenants and delivering new affordable homes.
For more details, H&F Labour’s manifesto can be found here and details of the candidates here.
Across the border in Hounslow, that same emphasis on delivery is evident. It has been a pleasure to work with Cllr Amy Croft, the hardworking Mayor of Hounslow and candidate for Chiswick Riverside. We have seen practical improvements like the new 24/7 Enforcement Team tackling anti-social behaviour and community skip days that have significantly cut fly-tipping.
The Hounslow Labour Manifesto is one of the most progressive I’ve seen, pledging vital investment in youth clubs, housing and the local environment, and stronger protections for renters. These are not just words, the Council is already delivering on these values with a £10 million investment in a low-carbon heat network to cut local energy bills and a community solar scheme to help residents lower their own emissions.
Hanif Khan, one of the Labour candidates for Chiswick Gunnersbury has written an excellent article in the Chiswick Calendar setting out Labour’s plans for Chiswick and Hounslow.
You can find more information about the Chiswick Riverside candidates here.
Hounslow Labour has also published their manifesto, which can be found here.
We have a brilliant slate of candidates across the constituency ready to keep moving forward. The Labour candidates standing in the wards within Hammersmith and Chiswick are:
Hammersmith & Fulham Wards:
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Addison: Cllrs Jacolyn Daly and Ross Melton
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Avonmore: Joe Eaton and Cllr Laura Janes KC (Hon)
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Brook Green: Cllr Stala Antoniades and Florent Sherifi
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Coningham: Cllrs Lisa Homan, Rowan Ree, and Rory Vaughan
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Grove: Hannah Bulmer and Cllr Stephen Cowan, Leader of Hammersmith and Fulham
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Hammersmith Broadway: Molly Mantle and Cllr Callum Nimmo
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Ravenscourt: Harry Brackley and Natalie Lindsay
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Shepherd’s Bush Green: Cllrs Zarar Qayyum and Mercy Umeh
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Wendell Park: Cllrs Rebecca Harvey and Asif Siddique
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White City: Cllrs Andrew Jones, Natalia Perez, and Frances Umeh
Hounslow Wards:
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Chiswick Riverside: Cllr Amy Croft, Trevor MacFarlane, and Gurminder Randhawa
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Chiswick Gunnersbury: Hanif Khan, Maria Saroya, and Naeem Ulfat
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Chiswick Homefields: Aisha Farah, Fatima Tayyab, and Mohammed Umair
Under Labour, local councils are now getting support from national government, and an extra £60 million over three years in Hounslow’s case. This past Friday, 1 May, was a historic day as the Renters’ Rights Act came into force. This landmark legislation finally bans ‘no fault’ evictions and ends the ‘bidding wars’ that have driven up local rents, protections that will mean the world to the thousands of private renters in this constituency. This is coupled with extra powers for local councils to take action against rogue landlords.
This shows what can be achieved when a national government works in partnership with local councils. We are matching local ambition with national action through:
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The Employment Rights Act, the biggest upgrade in workers’ rights in a generation, providing the security that working people deserve.
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The Removal of Two Child Limit Act: Bringing 450,000 children out of poverty and providing security to working families by removing that arbitrary and cruel cap.
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The Water (Special Measures) Act, reversing the Tory decline in environmental standards and accountability in the water industry, empowering consumers and holding water bosses to account.
- The Crime and Policing Act, tackling violence against women and girls, anti-social behaviour, and retail crime, whilst rebuilding public confidence in policing and the wider criminal justice system.
Remember, you will have either 2 or 3 votes depending on the ward you live in, and I urge you to use all your votes for your Labour Party candidates. I support proportional representation, but while we have a first-past-the-post system only a vote for Labour will keep the Tories or Reform from winning in Hounslow or Hammersmith and Fulham.
Polls will open at 7am on 7 May, and will close at 10pm. Most of you will have already received your polling card but if not, don’t worry, you don’t need it to vote.
However, please remember to bring a valid form of photo ID as this is now required.
If you’re unsure about where to go to vote, or if you have any questions about the voting process then please contact your local Council for more information:
Hammersmith & Fulham Electoral Services
Phone: 020 8753 4466
Email: electoral.services@lbhf.gov.uk
Hounslow Electoral Services
Phone: 020 8583 2828
Email: elections@hounslow.gov.uk
Out and about
While canvassing has been the main focus for the last few weeks, there’s still plenty of other things going on in the constituency.
I visited Babyzone Hammersmith and Fulham this week at West London Youth Zone, a free, drop-in space for families with young children.
It was good to see a genuinely accessible service, with no booking or registration required, which brings together activities for children alongside support from health visitors, NHS teams and family workers under one roof.
If you have a child aged 0 to 5, do go along. It’s every Tuesday during term time, 9:30am to 2:30pm at West London Youth Zone, W12 7TF and is completely free.
I visited West London Welcome this week alongside fellow west London MPs Ruth Cadbury, Ben Coleman, Rupa Huq and Joe Powell. We toured the centre and spoke with volunteers and community members about the support they provide for refugees, asylum seekers and migrants locally.
Over lunch, prepared by their excellent chef, we sat down with members of the community to discuss the issues they face and how current and proposed policies affect them. It was a valuable opportunity to hear directly about people’s experiences and the role that organisations like West London Welcome play in providing practical support and a sense of community.
Chiswick Post Office
There has been considerable discussion about a proposed new site for Chiswick Post Office following a recent planning application to Hounslow Council. During last year’s temporary closure, Post Office Ltd made clear that while they intend to sell the current Heathfield Terrace site, they do want to maintain a Post Office presence in Chiswick, typically through a franchise model within an existing business.
I understand discussions are ongoing between all parties. This will take time to resolve, but Chiswick does continue to have a functioning Post Office. My priority remains to ensure a smooth transition to a permanent and accessible service for residents and local businesses.
In Parliament
Parliament is in recess, waiting for the King’s speech, but in the last week of the current session I questioned Lord George Robertson at the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy regarding his recent, much-discussed speech on the balance between defence and welfare spending. It was a robust session, and you can find the full transcript on the JCNSS website.
I also had a productive meeting with Enver Solomon, the new Chief Executive of NACRO, and spoke at a seminar on drugs in prisons. There, I was able to highlight the key findings from our Justice Committee inquiry and the report we published last year on this critical issue.
In the Justice Committee itself, we held an evidence session last week with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and her senior team, covering a wide range of departmental work. For those interested in the detail, the full session is available to watch on Parliament Live.
And finally
Friday 8 May, the day election results will be declared in Hounslow and Hammersmith and Fulham, will be the 40th anniversary of my first election (as a Councillor in West Ken). I’m hoping for an anniversary present of two re-elected Labour councils to continue working for a fair and prosperous west London.