Action and Lack of Action on Crime in the Area
Chiswick Homefields councillor Jack Emsley reports back
Cllrs Jack Emsley and Ron Mushiso
December 3, 2023
This Tuesday was the last full Borough Council meeting of the year, with councillors gathering to discuss a range of issues from treasury management and local provisions for asylum seekers, to the rollout of cargo bikes in the borough and proposals for a new Law Enforcement Team. The meeting went on until just before 11pm, reflecting both a mammoth agenda and a keenness from councillors to speak about important issues that affect our communities.
Thankfully, my blog this week won’t go on for quite as long as the meeting itself, but read-on for a rundown of another week as your councillor for Chiswick Homefields.
Standing against antisemitism
The sickening increase in antisemitic attacks in London (over 1,000% since October) should horrify all of us. On Sunday, I took time out from preparation for the week’s Borough Council meeting to attend the biggest gathering against antisemitism in Britain since Cable Street. I joined tens of thousands of others standing shoulder to shoulder with British Jews as we marched from the Strand to Parliament Square, where the crowd heard from speakers including the Chief Rabbi and leaders from both major political parties.
The latest polling shows exactly why we all have a duty to stand up to antisemitism in our city: More than six in ten British Jews have either personally experienced or witnessed an antisemitic incident since 7th October, whilst almost half have considered leaving the UK. Sunday’s march will not, on its own, right these horrific wrongs. It was, however, an important demonstration of support for the Jewish community, and a wakeup call for the relevant authorities to do more to tackle this hatred.
Youth Justice
Onto the Borough Council on Tuesday where, as mentioned, councillors came together to discuss a packed agenda. There were a number of important reports, with the Hounslow Youth Justice Plan a particular highlight.
This critical report looks at how the council formulates and implements youth justice services, including the work our local authority does to prevent youth offending and reduce reoffending. A big congratulations to the council officers who worked on the report, and to the councillor in charge of Education, Children, Skills and Employment, Lily Bath, for putting the report forwards.
My colleague in Chiswick Homefields, Councillor Gerald McGregor, spoke in favour of the report and in particular about the need to take action to prevent young people being “lost in the congress of justice.” He also highlighted how critical it is that we break the spiral of young offending and reoffending, and take action to ensure our young people can flourish.
Councillor Ron Mushiso also spoke in support of the report, in particular highlighting the work the council does with young people in care (an area about which he speaks from a position of experience). He spoke about the annual Kids in Care awards, which he attended a few weeks ago and gives young people who face incredible hardships something to work towards and a platform on which to be recognised.
Cargo Bikes
Staying on the theme of working constructively cross-party, councillors from both sides also unanimously backed a Conservative motion to support the rollout of cargo bikes across the borough. Ably proposed by the Cargo Bike King himself, Ron Mushiso, the motion called for a range of measures to be adopted by Hounslow Council, including grants for businesses looking to adopt cargo bikes, implementing specialist training for business employees and assessing the use of developer and TfL funds to create courier hubs.
I’ve seen first-hand the good cargo bikes do for local businesses in Chiswick, and in particular how popular they’ve become for traders at the Chiswick Flower Market. Following this motion, I hope the council quickly brings forward action to support businesses looking to make the transition to a brilliant, sustainable form of delivery. Cargo bikes are the future!
Action (or not) on Crime
We work best as a local authority when party politics and grandstanding over national issues gets put to one side in order to do the right thing for our local community. Unfortunately, the Christmas truce only lasted for the first half of the meeting on Tuesday. A proposal from myself and Councillor Gabriella Giles to create a new Law Enforcement Team in the borough (similar to the team in Hammersmith), and to update the council’s policy on anti-social behaviour to reflect the current challenges being faced, was voted down by Labour councillors.
I was particularly surprised that Chiswick’s only Labour councillor, Amy Croft, voted against the proposal given that, back in August, she said that she backed the idea of a Law Enforcement Team “in principle”. Labour councillors are generally whipped to vote against Conservative motions regardless of the content (which is also why Ron’s cargo bike motion was so extraordinary), which unfortunately means Amy and her colleagues often have to vote against bi-partisan proposals that would improve our communities. I think most Chiswick residents would rather local politics was conducted in a more grown-up way, with less party-political grandstanding and more action on local issues.
Amy subsequently presented her own proposals on crime which called for the council to “provide more information on initiatives already running within the Council to tackle anti-social behaviour.” This is important, but I think the council has to go further than a few extra tweets to really tackle crime and antisocial behaviour in the borough.
(Actual) Action on Crime
As your local councillors in Chiswick Homefields, John, Gerald and I have put that policy of taking tangible action on crime into practice: last weekend we successfully saw the installation of new CCTV cameras in Barnes Passage following a long campaign alongside local residents. Whilst I’m sure an extra post from the official Hounslow social media account will be useful, I think action like the installation of CCTV cameras will probably contribute a bit more to reducing crime. After all, we were elected not just to talk about what we’d like to happen, but to actually take action and make a difference in our local community.
A big thanks in particular to Matt Duncan, the council’s Safer Communities Coordinator, and PC Sam Allo of the local Safer Neighbourhoods police team, who have worked hard to improve safety in the Barnes Passage following a spate of crime. Well done also to local Staveley Gardens resident Ania Oliveira, who has campaigned hard for CCTV in the passageway since her son was attacked there several months ago.
So, a bumper blog following another bumper week. This is my last blog of the year, so want to end by wishing everyone a very happy (if a bit early) Christmas!
Cllr Jack Emsley
07977 396017
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Tuesday 5 December from 6:30pm – Chiswick Area Forum
Wednesday 6 December at 6:30pm – Cabinet Question Time
Thursday 7 December at 7:00 – Planning committee
Tuesday, 12 December at 7:00pm – Cabinet 6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
Tuesday, 16 January 2024 at 7:00pm Cabinet 6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
Tuesday 27 February 2024 at 7:30pm – Meeting of Borough Council (Budget Setting!) 6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB Open to Public
CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLOR SURGERIES
Chiswick: Every Saturday from 9.30am to 10.30am at Chiswick Library (the eight Conservative councillors take this surgery in turn).
Gunnersbury: First Saturday of the month from 10am to 11am at The Gunnersbury Triangle Club, Triangle Way, off The Ridgeway, W3 8LU (at least one of the Chiswick Gunnersbury ward councillors takes this surgery).
CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS and CONTACTS
Chiswick Gunnersbury (was Turnham Green) ward
Cllr Joanna Biddolph joanna.biddolph@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 703446
Cllr Ranjit Gill ranjit.gill@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 702956
Cllr Ron Mushiso ron.mushiso@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 702887
Chiswick Homefields ward
Cllr Jack Emsley jack.emsley@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 396017
Cllr Gerald McGregor gerald.mcgregor@hounslow.gov.uk 07866 784821
Cllr John Todd john.todd@hounslow.gov.uk 07866 784651
Chiswick Riverside ward
Cllr Gabriella Giles gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk 07966 270823
Cllr Peter Thompson peter.thompson@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 395810
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