Repair Cafes, Horticulture and Carmina Burana at Chiswick School

Report back from Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick

Hounslow Symphony Orchestra joins local choirs to perform Carmina Burana at Chiswick School

March 27, 2026

This week I was delighted to attend the Repair Café parliamentary event. There were over 100 repair cafe reps from around the UK, more than 75 MPs, with speeches from Helen Hayes MP and Mary Creagh CBE MP. It was wonderful to see Marie-Claire from Chiswick Repair Café and discuss the benefits of a circular economy.

With Marie-Claire of Chiswick Repair Café

Horticultural Trade Association visited the Commons again this week with a focus on the environmental horticultural sector. We heard speeches about the importance of the sector and the support it needs to thrive. On the subject of plants, last Friday I was pleased to join Sulgrave Youth Club at Ravenscourt Park to plant trees in celebration of the club’s centenary. I also joined Abundance London team at Hammersmith Community Gardens Association’s quiz night to raise money for the charity.

Andy Slaughter at the HTA event in Parliament

Sulgrave Youth Club tree planting in Ravenscourt Park

I recently had the pleasure of attending a performance of Carmina Burana at Chiswick School. It was another hugely ambitious and successful concert under the direction of head of music Zac Moxon. The performance included Chiswick Voices and community choir, Fulham Boys and West London Free School choirs and Hounslow Symphony Orchestra. I thoroughly enjoyed the event and the music was wonderful.

I recently welcomed Chiswick School politics students to Parliament for a tour and met them afterwards for a Q&A. I really enjoy meeting young people who are interested in politics and answering their questions on the role of an MP and the process of passing legislation.

This week I sat on the Liaison Committee, and as chair of JSC I got to ask the Prime Minister questions about the international law position on the Middle East conflicts. Although I enter the ballot for a Prime Minister’s Question every week, I have not been drawn since the General Election, so I made up for this at the Committee session by asking him ten questions!

I attended an Eid event at the Commons and heard a very powerful speech from the Palestinian Ambassador, Husam Zomlot. The new Embassy premises are based in Hammersmith, and I attended the official opening in January.

In Justice Committee news, as part of our major inquiry into rehabilitation, I spent three hours taking evidence on the probation service. I also spoke in debates on safety for prison officers and how victims can obtain transcripts of court proceedings. There was also a Met Police Federation drop-in to meet local Met Federation representatives. We were able to discuss the government’s new model for policing and how these changes will help deliver for London. Lastly, I spent a day at Isleworth Crown Court to see the problems with the criminal justice system at first hand – something to feed into the ongoing Justice Committee inquiries.

Best wishes,

Andy

andy@andyslaughter.com

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