Station Accessibility and a Meeting with the Grove Park Group

Report back from Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick

Andy Slaughter MP

March 28, 2025

A couple of weeks ago I was very pleased to meet with the new Met Police Borough Commander, Chief Superintendent Jill Horsfall. Superintendent Horsfall oversees policing in Hounslow, Ealing and Hillingdon. We had a very good discussion for an introductory meeting, and I look forward to speaking with her on a regular basis about policing in the Chiswick area and raising any concerns constituents might have.

Last week in the Commons I spoke about sentencing guidelines, made a speech in the Westminster Hall debate about miscarriage of justice compensation, asked a question on the effectiveness of the Crown Prosecution Service, and the breaking of the ceasefire in Gaza.

I spoke in a debate led by former Chiswick MP, Ruth Cadbury, focused on the lack of step free access at Kew Bridge and Gunnersbury stations and the impact this has on those who are disabled or who have mobility issues.

There was a very timely debate in the House of Commons last Thursday on knife crime. There were many emotive speeches made by MPs who attended. My speech focused on harm reduction as this issue is not a quick fix. In the meantime, we must do all we can to limit the number of lives lost to these horrific acts of violence.

Last weekend I attended a performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 at Chiswick School. I was thoroughly impressed by the school's performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony last year and thought it would be difficult to top, but they managed to go one better with Mahler's Resurrection Symphony, one of the most difficult pieces in the classical repertoire. The school's musical education is superb, thanks in large part to the head of music, Zac Moxon. 

Heathrow was the focus of national headlines when it was forced to close following a fire at the electricity substation that supplies power to the airport. For those in west London the story highlighted a different issue: how much worse would the impact of such a major incident should the airport be increased in size by 50%? I raised this with Ministers during an emergency debate on the airport's closure. 

Earlier this week I met with the chair of the Grove Park Group to discuss a number of local issues. The group has carried out a full survey of its residents and has come up with a list of local priorities they have asked me to help with through engagement with Hounslow Council and other local bodies. These include the state of paving on local streets, concerns about how low traffic neighbourhoods are working and other environmental issues. 

On Thursday afternoon I spoke in the debate on St Patrick's day, to talk about the Irish community in Hammersmith and particularly the wonderful Irish Cultural Centre, which continues to go from strength to strength. 

On Friday I visited two local care homes in the Chiswick area to meet with residents and to talk with staff who work there. I was made to feel very welcome, and we had good discussions about how we look after older people in our communities.

I look forward to another busy week ahead.

Best wishes,

Andy

andy@andyslaughter.com

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