Securing the Long Term Future of a Post Office in Chiswick

Report back from Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick

Andy Slaughter MP hosting the Law for Change event in Parliament

November 21, 2025

Last Saturday and Sunday I spent some hours talking to residents in Chiswick Riverside. National and international affairs came up, but we mainly discussed local issues. I was grateful to be joined by Riverside Councillor Amy Croft and Labour’s other candidates for the ward in the borough elections next May, Trevor MacFarlane and Gurminder Randhawa.

There has been lots of positive feedback on the re-opened Chiswick Post Office, but I am painfully aware that this is only a temporary solution with a temporary postmaster and a building that in time Post Office Limited will want to dispose of in line with their national policy.

The good news is they remain committed to a Post Office in Chiswick and believe it can be commercially successful. They are recruiting for a permanent postmaster or mistress so please encourage anyone you know to apply by the 9th December CHISWICK Post Office branch advert - Run a Post Office. 

In the long-term they would like to co-locate the Post Office with an existing shop in the High Road, so let me know if you can think of a possible venue.

I had a visit from the Horticultural Trades Association this week. ‘Plants in Parliament’ was designed to remind MPs about the value – economic as well as environmental – of the horticulture industry.  I don’t think we need to be reminded of that in Chiswick with so many wonderful parks, gardens and the Flower Market, but I gratefully received one of their ferns which is now the centrepiece of my office in the Commons and which I will endeavour not to kill.

I was also visited by Adecco, one of the biggest recruitment companies who have an office on the High Road, to talk about the jobs market.

A visit from the Horticultural Trades Association

It was a pleasure to welcome Heathfield School to Parliament this week. The students came for a tour and a Q&A with me about the role of an MP.

The Justice Committee remains very busy. This week we took evidence from the Law Commission, which is the body that reviews the effectiveness of our laws. The Committee asked about everything from Contempt of Court to the law on marriage

I met with west Londoner Cindy Butts, the Independent Public Advocate. This is a new post designed to help victims of disasters like Hillsbourough and Grenfell find their way through the justice system.  I made a statement in the Commons on our latest major report on rehabilitation in prisons, and asked questions about how the most dangerous prisoners are held in prisons in a way that ensure the safety of prison staff.

In other justice news, I hosted a major event in Parliament for Law for Change, a group of several hundred lawyers who give their time for free to fund and take on cases of public importance. I also spoke at the launch of the Sentencing Hub, a new website that is designed to explain in clear terms  to the general public and those in the criminal justice system how sentencing works . I visited a major exhibition of prisoner art at the Royal Festival Hall. There is outstanding work here on show until; 14 December – with free admission

Finally, I spoke at a conference on knife crime organised by the Safer Knives Group, of which I am a member.  The group campaigns to replace pointed kitchen knives (responsible for the majority of serious knife crime injuries) with rounded tip knives.  Over a hundred people committed to the fight against knife crime turned up and heard a keynote speech by Sarah Jones, the policing minister.

Best wishes,

Andy

andy@andyslaughter.com

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.