Getting Stuck in as a New Councillor for Chiswick Homefields Ward

Newly elected Jack Emsley reports back on his week

Jack Emsley (left) with Cllr John Todd and Cllr Gerald McGregor

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So, here it is: blog number one as the new councillor for Chiswick Homefields.

I think it’s fair to say that quite a few of us have only just caught our breath after the election earlier this month. I was selected as a candidate back in August 2021, just a few months after the end of the successful campaign to elect Nick Rogers, our brilliant South West London Assembly Member. That means we’ve been in election mode in Chiswick Homefields for well over a year – apologies for all the leaflets and canvassers. My step-counter tells me that each canvassing session of the campaign averaged about 15,000 steps, including nearly 50,000 (!) steps on election day itself. I haven’t done the maths on how many calories that is, but I think any gains made campaigning were offset by the fantastic lunch-stops we made along the way – a special shoutout to Fatboys on Edensor Road for keeping us going with a combination of great Thai food and proper fry-ups throughout election week and on election day itself!

Homefields residents bore the brunt of the leafletting in the local elections this year, with our area seeing the most candidates contesting out of any other ward in the borough. The good news is that, with the election over, you won’t be receiving quite as many party-political leaflets as you have over the past few months. The bad news, for those who aren’t that keen on canvassers, is that I’m a great believer in councillors who get out and listen to their community. I don’t think us councillors should only be out knocking on doors and asking about local issues during an election, so John, Gerald and I will still be out regularly canvassing residents to give you the opportunity to talk to us about what’s affecting you and your local area.

A relatively busy election day

If you can’t wait for us to come to you, in addition to our contact details below we also hold weekly surgeries at Chiswick library (which we share alongside our brilliant colleagues in Chiswick Gunnersbury and Chiswick Riverside). My first surgery was actually last weekend, and I was lucky enough to have Gerald there with me to show me the ropes. We picked up two bits of casework, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but both were relatively complex so took us well over our allotted time (thankfully the library staff were understanding!). I’m only a couple of weeks in, but I’m pretty confident in saying that getting stuck in with casework is easily the best and most rewarding part of being a councillor – the message from local residents in Chiswick during the campaign was very clear: you want representatives who not only listen, but representatives who then go on and act. I’m looking forward to putting that into practice.

Councillor surgery at Chiswick Library

If casework is the most rewarding part of being a councillor, then getting stuck in to supporting great local community groups is a close second. If you follow me over on Twitter (for those who don’t, what are you waiting for? It’s @jack_emsley1) you’ll know that I’m a big fan of wildlife, and particularly hedgehogs. We’re lucky that here in Chiswick, particularly around Grove Park, we’re home to one of the largest hedgehog populations in the whole of London, if not the whole of the UK. Unfortunately, we can’t be complacent about that, which is why I was thrilled to join WildChiswick on Tuesday evening to hear about what they’re doing to protect our prickly friends, as well as many other exciting green projects. We chatted about, amongst other things, how hedgehog highways can be built in people’s back gardens to support the population. I’m a big fan. Keep a look out for more information from the group on how you can get involved in saving Chiswick’s hedgehogs…

Wednesday evening was our Chiswick Homefields ward AGM, which gave John, Gerald and I the chance to properly thank all of the local party members and activists for their help over the course of the election. Thanks to a brilliant campaign run by the equally brilliant Chiswick Homefields committee, we secured the best election result in South West London, with each of us actually increasing the number of votes we won compared to 2018 (see what happened elsewhere in London for why this was an exceptionally good result). A week before the election, Labour thought they’d win every seat in the borough and based on the national polls, they probably should have done. Chiswick residents, though, had other ideas. Still, maybe the Hounslow Labour Party will just claim they won the argument… In all seriousness, this election did show that Chiswick wants Hounslow Council to go in a fresh direction. I’m hopeful that the new leadership of the council will be receptive to that, and I look forward to working constructively with the new leader of the council to deliver on the priorities of residents here in Chiswick.

On Friday (the day I’m writing this), I’ll be heading to the launch of the Chiswick High Road Platinum Jubilee Art Exhibition. Local schools have done an amazing job at creating pieces of art which will be displayed up and down local Chiswick shops and businesses to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The celebrations for next week’s Jubilee will also include a

bumper Flower Market, already the joint best market in London alongside the Cheese Market, Antiques Market, and the Dukes Meadows Food Market (which are also, coincidentally, all based in Chiswick). There’s a whole day of carousels, Punch and Judy shows, a brass band and more to look forward to on Sunday 5th June – I’m looking forward to seeing plenty of you there!

Before all of the Jubilee celebrations, though, we have the first council meeting of the year on Tuesday 31st May. This one is a formality more than anything else, where the 62 councillors decide on who the mayor is, who sits on committees and other things like that. Unfortunately for those keen watchers of council meetings, things almost certainly won’t be as dramatic as the last council meeting of the old term, where two Labour councillors resigned in protest at their party’s decision to increase our council tax once again. There will, however, be a protest outside the meeting by Chiswick residents against the way in which the council has implemented traffic schemes in South Chiswick (what, you thought I’d be able to go a whole blog without mentioning LTNs?). We committed during the election to properly reviewing these schemes, and I’m looking forward to meeting local community groups over the course of the next few weeks to discuss the council’s transport policies and the changes that need to be made.

Anyway, I think I’ve reached my allotted word limit, so I’ll leave things there. I’m incredibly excited and honoured that Chiswick residents have put their trust in me to represent them over the next four years. I’m also incredibly lucky to have two fantastic ward colleagues in John Todd and Gerald McGregor, who have both been phenomenally kind in sharing with me their experience and insights into the role. I’ve loved getting stuck in over the last two weeks, and I can’t wait to deliver for our community over the next four years and beyond.

Surgeries In Chiswick

We are back to our usual routine, after the election, of holding face-to-face surgeries in Chiswick and Gunnersbury. 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 will take this surgery). 

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 Peter Thompson peter.thompson@hounslow.gov.uk

Cllr Gabriella Giles gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk 07966 270823

Chiswick Gunnersbury (was Turnham Green) ward

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

Cllr Ranjit Gill ranjit.gill@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 702956

Cllr Ron Mushiso ron.mushiso@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 702887

May 30, 2022