What is the World Coming To? Bus Passengers Consider Emigration
Chiswick Homefields councillor Gerald McGregor reports back
Cllr Gerald McGregor
September 13, 2025
From National Commitment to Local reality in Hounslow
Total strangers are talking to each other on public transport, sharing views about strikes, the difficulty of living in inflationary times, the hidden casual racism that people experience in their general life and employment and the weight of emotional concerns signifying an attitude of being generally fed up.
A recent experience of a local bus ride, interrupted by road works controlled by temporary lights at a diversion (but with no construction staff to be seen), led to people who were standing for their journey actually pleading with the operator to let them off to avoid any further pain. The commentaries became acidic very quickly. The lack of prior information about the dislocated journey was taken up by passengers.
Whilst being patient some passengers nearby started talking about leaving the country for Jamaica, Australia and New Zealand. Morale is starting to go!
What are we now facing at all levels of Government?
The Worrying Result: Trending opinions
People now appear to have lost faith in politicians of all stripes, and the United Kingdom is close to following the patterns of the United States of America with a degree of political paralysis, internal point scoring and infighting, economic floundering and loss of relationships with other different communities; appointments to office being poorly managed; social stress created at all levels; continuing conflict encouraged by unprincipled extremists at national level of both left and right who want to get power and authority and looking to the sharing out of the spoils (as if public funds are held not in trust but to be pillaged); the rule of law being flouted and administrative discipline being fouled by the constant attempts to gain from private deals and influence behind the scenes.
The foreign affairs situation appears to be getting more and more clouded. The passengers I talked about were not sure what hazards they might face in the future. The evolving picture now seen across the whole of wider Europe and North America gives an indication of what we might be in for.
Cllr Gerald McGregor
gerald.mcgregor@hounslow.gov.uk
07866 784821
DEMOCRACY: DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Monday 13 October: Chiswick Area Forum - Normally at Hogarth Hall, Chiswick Town Hall, Heathfield Terrace, Turnham, W4 4JN, but moveable around Chiswick (please check the website). 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
Council Meetings
Borough Council
- Tuesday 16 September 7.30pm - Including the Treasury Management Annual Report 2024/25. This report makes interesting reading with a subsidiary agency of the council paying penalty charges for late payment of their loan interest (the loans are ultimately guaranteed by the taxpayer…….whoops!)
- Tuesday 25 November 7:30pm - Including the first call on the Medium Term Financial Report for the Annual Budget 2025/26
Overview and Scrutiny Panel
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 – Overview and Scrutiny Committee
- Monday 18 September 2025 7.00pm
6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
Council Meetings – Audit and Governance Committee
- Tuesday 4 November 7:00 pm
6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
Anyone can attend public meetings of the council. Most meetings take place on the 6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, TW3 3EB. Hounslow House is fully accessible. The nearest tube is Hounslow Central which does not have step-free access. Parking in local roads is limited.
Emergencies
You can report emergencies outside office hours by ringing the council on: 020 8583 2222.
CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLOR SURGERIES
Chiswick: Every Saturday from 9.30am to 10.30am at Chiswick Library (the seven 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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