Why Leadership Means Speaking Up Beyond Chiswick

Chiswick Riverside councillor Peter Thompson reports back

Cllr Peter Thompson

June 16, 2025

Serving the Whole Borough:

As councillors we’re elected to serve our local communities and I’m proud to represent the residents of Chiswick Riverside. But as Leader of the Opposition on Hounslow Council my responsibility goes further. It’s not just about Chiswick. It’s about holding Labour to account and standing up for Conservative values across the whole borough.

That’s why I was pleased to attend the recent AGM of the Feltham and Heston Conservative Association. It was an optimistic and energetic meeting filled with local people determined to make a difference. It reminded me of something we must never forget. If we want to grow our influence, challenge Labour’s dominance and win back control of the council we must contest and win seats in the west of the borough in Feltham, Hanworth, Bedfont, Cranford and Heston.

We cannot build a credible Conservative alternative by focusing on Chiswick alone. Labour has taken voters for granted in large parts of Hounslow. Our job is to show up, listen and provide a serious local principled alternative.

Labour’s £14.8 Million Overspend Is a Wake-Up Call

This week’s cabinet agenda includes the council’s 2024/25 Budget Outturn Report. It confirms what many of us have warned for months. Labour has lost control of the borough’s finances.

Hounslow Council overspent its General Fund by £14.8 million last year. This isn’t a rounding error or a one-off miscalculation. It’s a major failure of financial stewardship. To cover it Labour is draining borough reserves to the tune of £60 million in a single year.

At a time when families and businesses across Hounslow are struggling with inflation and rising bills it’s galling to see such reckless handling of public money. I’ve repeatedly raised concerns about missed savings targets, runaway costs and the unsustainable losses in the council’s wholly owned companies. This report confirms all of them.

Lampton Losses Are Mounting

Labour created the Lampton Group to run council services including waste collection, leisure centres, housing and property maintenance. In theory these companies were supposed to be efficient and self-financing. In reality they are fast becoming a financial liability.

The latest figures show £6 million in Lampton losses last year alone:

• Lampton Investment 360 lost £3.4 million due to underperformance in its private rental portfolio
• Lampton Leisure ran a £1.3 million deficit despite cutting services and increasing fees
• Lampton Recycle 360 and Lampton Homes also reported shortfalls with several failing even their most basic performance targets

A Delivery Plan Monitoring Report presented alongside the budget shows that just one in three of Lampton’s key performance indicators were met last quarter. Whether it’s housing delivery, income generation or recycling targets Lampton is falling short and the borough is left picking up the pieces. Scrutiny is minimal. It is time for a full independent review of the Lampton Group’s finances.

The Truth About Labour’s “Pavement Pledge”

Labour’s £2 million Pavement Pledge may sound like a feel-good initiative. But beneath the surface lies yet another example of financial sleight of hand. Instead of funding pavement repairs from the usual Highways budget where routine maintenance belongs, Labour is paying for it entirely from capital reserves.

Capital reserves are meant for long-term investment. That includes building homes, improving infrastructure and regenerating neighbourhoods. Using them to patch up paving slabs is short-sighted and unsustainable.

Initially Labour said some of the cost would come from the Parking Revenue Account which at least made some sense. But after burning through earmarked reserves in February, they quietly moved the full £2 million into the capital programme with no scrutiny, no maintenance plan and no value-for-money assessment.

This is not strategic investment. It’s a PR stunt funded by borrowing against the future.

Let’s be clear:

• One-off capital cash is now being used for everyday repairs
• Scrutiny is being dodged by shifting funds behind the scenes
• Real priorities are being sidelined as capital capacity shrinks

Pavement repairs should be standard practice. They shouldn’t require an election-year pledge and definitely shouldn’t be funded by robbing tomorrow to pay for today.

Labour’s Town Hall Appointments: More Jobs at Your Expense

Hounslow residents want a council that puts public services first. They do not want more taxpayer-funded roles for Labour insiders.

Last month the council quietly advertised two new Cabinet Officer posts each with a salary of up to £44,331. Their job is to support Cabinet Members in shaping Labour’s so-called nationally leading policy platform. In plain English that means helping Labour councillors with political speeches, strategy and spin. Not potholes. Not fly-tipping. Not frontline services. Just politics.

This follows Labour’s decision to make the Head of Cabinet Office role permanent on a senior HMG3 salary worth over £60,000. That post was originally handed to a former political assistant to the Labour Group.

Add in five Cabinet Assistants, all Labour councillors receiving an extra £9,636 a year each, and the picture becomes clear. This is a political support network costing over £200,000 a year funded by residents for the benefit of the ruling party.

At a time when frontline services are stretched and council tax keeps rising this is not how local government should work. Residents deserve better than a Town Hall that prioritises political comfort over public need.

Council U-turn on Strand-on-the-Green Parking Restrictions: A Local Victory for Common Sense

After all that let’s end the week with a rare piece of good news and yes it’s a Chiswick parking story.

Hounslow Council has agreed to review its Controlled Parking Zone in Strand-on-the-Green following sustained pressure from the Strand on the Green Association, local businesses and Conservative councillors. A public consultation is now under way on proposals to scale back the existing scheme and introduce match-day-only controls.

The current restrictions — 10am to noon and 6pm to 8pm on weekdays plus 2pm to 4pm at weekends — were brought in after Brentford FC’s new stadium opened. But from the start residents made it clear they supported minimal weekday restrictions and targeted match-day controls, not the blanket approach that has since disrupted daily life and hurt local businesses.

Local pubs and restaurants have reported a drop in evening and weekend trade. Residents have struggled to host visitors, carers or deliveries. A petition calling for change gathered more than 420 signatures.

Under the revised proposals weekday controls from 10am to noon would remain. But all other restrictions would apply only on Brentford FC match days. On those days the CPZ would operate from 6pm to 8pm Monday to Friday and from 2pm to 4pm and 6pm to 8pm on weekends and public holidays.

The consultation covers Geraldine Road, Hearne Road, Meade Close, Oliver Close, Pyrmont Road, Spring Grove, Strand-on-the-Green, Waldeck Road and part of Thames Road. Residents and businesses have until 4 July 2025 to submit their views here.

After spending so much time holding the council to account on major borough-wide issues — financial mismanagement, failing companies and bloated payrolls — it’s quite refreshing to end the week with a good old-fashioned Chiswick parking battle. Because as every local resident knows, in this part of the borough nothing moves people quite like a badly timed CPZ.

Cllr Peter Thompson

Leader of the Conservative Group on Hounslow Council

peter.thompson@hounslow.gov.uk

07977 395810

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 2025

Anyone can attend public meetings of the council at Hounslow House which is fully accessible. Most meetings take place on the 6th floor of Hounslow House which is at 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB.

Council Meetings

• Tuesday, 17 June 7.00pm - Cabinet
• Tuesday 22 July  7:30 pm - Borough Council
• Tuesday 16 September 7.30pm - Borough Council

There is public access for these meetings via a direct lift from the ground floor to the Council Meeting Room

6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB

Council Meetings – Audit and Governance Committee

• Tuesday 15 July 7.00pm
• Tuesday 4 November  7:00 pm

6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB

Chiswick Area Forum

• Wednesday 2 July 7.30pm - St. Paul's Church, Grove Park
• Monday 13 October 7.30pm - Hogarth Hall, Chiswick Town Hall, Heathfield Terrace, Turnham, W4 4JN

Both meetings are open from 6.30pm allowing residents to meet officers of Hounslow Council in Adult and Child care Social Welfare, Education, Housing and Services

Important Current Local Issues

During weekends and regular Public Holidays, residents can still access council services on-line or via emergency numbers:

To inform the council of an emergency, please call 020 8583 2222

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 ward

Cllr Joanna Biddolph joanna.biddolph@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 703446

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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