Recent Activities in Chiswick, Hounslow, Germany and Austria

Chiswick Homefields councillor Gerald McGregor looks back on the week

Chiswick Homefields Councillors

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Funeral Procession through Chiswick and on into Hounslow on Monday

• The Council’s senior leadership team were liaising closely with the Metropolitan Police, the Palace, and HM Government in ensuring the funeral cortege of our late Sovereign Lady passed peacefully and safely through the borough.
• The Great West Road passing through Homefields and Riverside Wards provided an opportunity for the thousands of people lining the A4 to pay their respects to The Queen’s on her last journey.
  
  

Borough Council in Sombre Mood

• Borough Council on Tuesday had the opportunity to pay tributes to her Majesty. Speeches and tributes were paid by leading councillors on both sides of the chamber. Typically, the administration could not see wood for trees.
• Many Boroughs in London favoured a separate meeting to honour our Sovereign, and in so doing did not conduct other business. However, the No 1 Council of the year 2021 again showed that it wanted to promote its’ own limited agenda rather than formally recognise the new Head of State and the memorial tributes were somewhat curtailed.

  Borough Council on Tuesday ~ The Labour Agenda and the Corporate Plan

• Overcomplicated, overpromising and overlooking. This Corporate Plan does not deliver for residents of our borough.

• This plan sets out the strategic direction of the council for the ensuing term, setting out the key objectives, policies, and plans of the council for the borough.

• Speaking during the debate, it seemed scripted speeches by some Labour councillors were read out under the wrong item, with one member reading a speech about the Local Plan rather than the Corporate Plan.

Child Poverty

• Bragging about the length of time Labour have controlled the council, Councillor Tom Bruce (Cabinet Member) states this is the fourth plan he is supporting in his time as councillor. Cllr Gabriella Giles(Conservative Member for Chiswick Riverside) responds by reminding him that “child poverty has been higher than the national average in the borough for 20 years, so why is this not being considered?”

Spending Plans

• Focusing on the spending plans of the Corporate Plan, Cllr John Todd (Conservative Member for Chiswick Homefields) argues the massive reserves of the council need to be used, much of which are set aside for investment and ‘rainy days;’ it really needs to be used in supporting our residents especially as we are in a cost-of-living crisis. Cllr Todd in a hard- hitting analysis argued that Labour is never getting the balance right.

• “The budget is moved to cover overspends and under forecasted costs of the Labour Budget 2022 miscalculations, so total net reserves of council will be reduced from £230.7 million to £199.5 million”.

• Talking of budgets, later in the week the Conservative Group looked at the national scene with great interest when the Chancellor of the Exchequer introduced his first financial statement to the House of Commons

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, Highlights of his Measures

• Unveiled a new perspective on fiscal and financial management with a new growth plan, tackling energy costs to bring down inflation, backing business and helping households.
• The proposed Corporation tax rise was cancelled, keeping it at 19% as government sets sights on 2.5% trend rate of growth.
• The Basic rate of income tax cut to 19% in April 2023 – one year earlier than planned – with 31 million taxpayers getting on average £170 less tax each year.
• Changes to house buying where Stamp Duty cuts will help people on all levels of the property market.
• Setting out the first steps towards growth, Kwasi Kwarteng revealed a package of major cuts to Stamp Duty Land Tax, with the changes expected to increase additional residential investment, boost spending on household goods and support the hundreds of thousands of jobs in the property industry from removals companies to decorators. The nil rate band will be doubled from £125,000 to £250,000, meaning that 200,000 more people every year will be able to buy a home without paying any Stamp Duty at all. The standard buyer in England will save £2,500, meaning a typical family moving into a semi-detached property will save £2,500 on stamp duty and £1,150 on energy bills – and if they have a combined income of £50,000 around an additional £560 on tax. This is around £4,200 in total.

• First Time buyers will receive more support, and will now pay no stamp duty up to £425,000, and increasing the value of the property on which first time buyers can claim relief, from £500,000 to £625,000. This tax cut took effect from midnight on the day of the announcement (Friday 23 Sept 2022). The Chancellor also announced that he will further support homebuyers by increasing the disposal of surplus government land to build new homes, increasing supply.

Prime Minister Liz Truss

• Mid-week in New York at the UN Assembly after a busy two weeks of being appointed PM, dealing with the death of our late Sovereign, and releasing a new fiscal plan.
• Energy Bill Relief Scheme – providing businesses, charities, schools and hospitals with a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices worth up to half the price of expected energy prices this winter, giving business owners certainty on their bills until the end of March 2023.
• Plan for Patients, prioritising ambulances, backlogs, care and doctors and dentists. HM Gov will improve patients’ access to GP practices, recruit additional support staff, give pharmacies powers to prescribe more medicines and introduce cloud-based telephone systems to GP practices.

Pakistan Floods:

• In the midst of our own grief and mourning for Her Late Majesty we should continue to remember the unfolding and deepening problems of Pakistan, a major Commonwealth country. The original briefing was given by His Excellency the High Commissioner for Pakistan to the Court of St James, Moazzam Ahmad Khan, regarding the flood situation, held at the Pakistan High Commission, London.
• The High Commissioner explained the dire situation in Pakistan, with almost a third of the country underwater and billions of pounds in devastation.
• The current satellite pictures this week show little change with waters from the summer melting of the Siachen glacier adding to the continuing monsoon rains
• The Prime Minister of Pakistan set up a fund for people to contribute to. This fund appeal swiftly went global.
• Since the original briefing the UK Disaster Emergencies Committee was quickly able to obtain matching funds from HM Government
• UNICEF says floods are affecting 16 million children.
• The rise of numbers of cases of malaria and other diseases associated with loss of shelter and food continues to be the number one concern. Deaths from the flooding are still being counted as so much damage was done to the infrastructure that people were finding difficulties in reaching out to the rescue and relief services
• HE High Commissioner said: “This is an unprecedented disaster and we cannot cope alone. We are relying heavily on the Pakistan community in the UK and the expertise that they have to help shoulder the burdens of this catastrophic series of events:

Away in Germany and Austria PostScript

Father Kevin Morris of St Michael and All Angels Bedford Park led a much-delayed pilgrimage to the 2020 Passion Play at Oberammergau in Bavaria. The group was made up from Anglican Parishes in London and the South West of England.

The impact of the death of our beloved Queen was felt across Europe. Shops and Businesses in Salzberg (Austria) and the surrounding area were closed all day on Monday so that staff could be at home watching German language coverage of the funeral.

Our pilgrimage was re-organised and our helpful host management arranged an English feed from BBC World so that all the pilgrims (36+) could see the full ceremonial. It was a great kindness.

Our impression of the whole event in London was one of shared great sadness about our monarch but her Christian commitment was so strong that it was a comfort to all in the group. Tributes could be seen in churches and public places marking the day of her funeral and our pilgrimage continued with a climax on Thursday.

2020 Passion Play at Oberammergau

This was a wonderful tribute to faith with villagers from every background taking part. In total 2,800 people participate in the Passion Play normally held every ten years. The total population of the village is 5,000 so the majority of inhabitants (currently from four years of age to ninety- six years of age for the present performances) take part. The play based on biblical references in the Old and. New Testaments involves tableaux, musical interludes, choral and solo signing and has a two-hour interval for the audience to have enough time for supper. It is a stupendous experience that takes one’s breath away in admiration. info@passionsspiele-oberammergau.de

Cllr Gerald McGregor

gerald.mcgregor@hounslow.gov.uk

07866 784821

SURGERIES IN CHISWICK AND GUNNERSBURY

We are back to our usual routine of holding face-to-face surgeries in Chiswick and in Gunnersbury.

Chiswick: Every Saturday from 9.30am to 10.30am at Chiswick Library (the eight Conservative councillors take this surgery in turn).  

We are awaiting guidance about the surgery in Chiswick on Saturday 17 th September. Please see note in dates for your diary below:

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). 

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

28 September 7:00 pm   Planning Committee

13 October 7:00 pm  Planning Committee

18 October 7:00 pm  Cabinet

3 November 7:00 pm  Planning Committee

8 November 7:00 pm  Overview and Scrutiny Committee

15 November 7 :00 pm  Cabinet

22 November 7:00 pm  Chiswick Area Forum

29 November 7:30 pm  Borough Council

CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS and CONTACTS

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

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 07977 395810  

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

September 25, 2022