Heading to a Make-or-break Conservative Party Conference
Chiswick Gunnersbury councillor Ron Mushiso reports back
Cllr Ron Mushiso (second left) at the Chiswick in Film Festival
On Friday I was fortunate enough to have been invited to the Opening Gala of the inaugural Chiswick in Film Festival 2022 at the Chiswick Cinema. And what a treat! We got to rewatch a British film classic, The Servant, starring Dirk Bogarde and Sarah Miles (who was there in person for a very special Q&A about the film). The screenplay, a psychological drama about personal relationships within the British class system, was written by former Chiswick resident, Harold Pinter. It even featured our magnificent Chiswick House prominently throughout.
The Chiswick Cinema is celebrating the cinematic heritage of the local community with a programme of six films this September with profits donated to local charities such as Hogarth Trust and West London Welcome. Make sure you check out the other films this weekend!
Party Conferences
Meanwhile, I will be traveling the Conservative Party conference for the first time this weekend. After 17 years of watching from the side-lines, I have decided to take the plunge, and what a time to go. With so much going on in the economy, our new Prime Minister and our new Chancellor tearing up the so-called Treasury orthodoxy, some commentators are suggesting that this could be a make-or-break conference for our Government. What the critics will not acknowledge is that the alternative to the recent policy announcements are, high inflation and a long drawn out recession (just look at our neighbours in the Netherlands or Germany). You would have to look hard to find any mention of pound now eliminating all of its losses earlier in the week against the dollar, let alone the fact that our economy grew by 0.2 in the 2 nd quarter proving yet again that forecasters were wrong.
In the last few days, we have seen the Labour Party MPs trying desperately to grab the headlines by talking down our economy and even questioning our new Chancellor’s ethnicity. The Daily Mirror have gone one further not even recognising our new Chancellor at all. It’s worth reminding the left that all black people don’t look the same, we don’t sound the same and we don’t all harbour left leaning views. Here at Conservative Party Conference, I have no doubt that we will be talking up our country, our communities and all the hard work that goes in every day to make the United Kingdom one of the most tolerant societies in the world. We will also be talking about these supply side policies that will deliver more housing, cheaper childcare and higher wages following these historic tax cuts and interventions.
Mini-Budget and Cost of Living Crisis
You will not be surprised to hear that I am backing our Government and our country to succeed. Let’s not forget that before the Chancellor’s plan for growth, the Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) had announced one of its biggest ever revenue commitments, to cap energy prices for households and businesses. The total package works out to around £60 billion in interventions. These historic caps on our energy bills will help businesses up and down our High Road. Again, the alternative, to do nothing, would have led to an estimated 5% increase on top of the current inflationary figures.
The Energy Price Guarantee from BEIS will mean that a typical family will go from an expected payment £4,500 annually as result of the energy crisis, to an average price of around £2,500 a year on energy bills for the next 2 years. This comes into effect this weekend and is in addition to the £400 payment from the Energy Bill Support Scheme that was announced earlier in the summer. It also comes into effect this month.
This is welcomed news for our residents because our recent casework has been dominated by enquires about energy bills and council tax support. To their credit, the officers at London Borough Hounslow have responded swiftly in working with us to come up with some targeted solutions to many of these cases. As councillors, it is our job to respond to worried residents. So, if you are reading this and have further concerns about your energy bills or finance; we are here to sign post you. Please get in touch. Alternatively, you can have a look at some of the support services that available through the council;
Energy Rebate Discretionary Fund
Discretionary Local Crisis Payment
Local businesses too can be reassured that they will be supported throughout this period of uncertainty. The Energy Bill Relief Scheme for businesses will provide non-domestic customers, including our local schools, a discount on gas and electricity unit prices initially between 1 October 2022 and 31 March 2023.
Here are two examples from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
- First, a small retail shop uses around 1 MWh of electricity and 2 MWh of gas each month. They are on a variable contract, giving them a current monthly energy bill of around £1,400 per month. As they are on a variable contract, they can receive support up to the Maximum Discount (currently estimated to be £405/MWh for electricity and £115/MWh for gas). Applying the Maximum Discount rates means that their monthly energy bill reduces by around 45%, leaving them with a bill of around £800 per month.
- Secondly, a medium sized restaurant uses around 3.5 MWh of electricity and 4 MWh of gas each month. They are on a variable contract, giving them a current monthly energy bill of around £3,900 per month. As they are on a variable contract, they can receive support up to the Maximum Discount (currently estimated to be £405/MWh for electricity and £115/MWh for gas). Applying the Maximum Discount rates means that their monthly energy bill reduces by around half.
Chiswick Area Forum
This meeting has now been rescheduled for 22 November at Chiswick Town Hall, Heathfield Terrace, Turnham Green, W4 4JN. Please contact: Chaspal Sandhu on 020 8583 2065 or on email: CAF@hounslow.gov.uk for more information and about attending.
Cllr Ron Mushiso
07976 702887
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
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
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October 2, 2022