A Non-listening Council that Dances to a Different Beat

As the longest serving Conservative councillor I can say that not much surprises me in the way that Local Government works/doesn’t work in England. The recent review by a cross-party panel of councillors of the process by which several Grove Park traffic schemes were made permanent has been blocked. The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Labour Councillor for Hounslow South Sayyar Raza, confirmed that he would not allow the call-in request to go ahead following a meeting with the council’s legal team.

What is a call-in?

A call-in is a statutory process which enables councillors to request that a decision be reconsidered by the person or body making the decision. Opposition councillors had requested a call-in following the council’s decision to make several traffic schemes in Chiswick permanent, claiming that that the decision-making process was flawed due to inadequate consultation, absence of evidence upon which to base the decisions, and a lack of proportionality to the desired outcome.

Following a meeting between the council’s legal officers, chair of the committee Cllr Raza and other committee members, it was claimed that there was “insufficient evidence” to grant the request for a review. A preliminary date for a meeting to hear the call-in had been set for Thursday 4 th May.

Cllr Raza is currently the subject of several Freedom of Information requests by Chiswick residents following claims he made to an official meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee that he had received “hundreds of emails” in support of the council’s traffic measures in Grove Park. He had failed to disclose these emails to other committee members, and Chiswick councillors have questioned whether he had in fact received such a large volume of supportive emails.

“It is disappointing that Cllr Raza has decided to block this request for a call-in, which we believe has solid grounds due to the inadequate consultation, poor data and lack of proportionality of the Grove Park schemes,” said Peter Thompson, Councillor for Chiswick Riverside and leader of the Conservative Group on Hounslow Council. “The council seems to be arguing that the call-in cannot go ahead as there is no evidence of the absence of proper consultation and data, which is totally paradoxical.

"We want the Hounslow Labour group to put aside constitutional tricks and have an open discussion with Chiswick residents and councillors about the future of traffic schemes in Grove Park.”

What are we to make of this series of decisions against the concepts of honesty and transparency in policy formation, delivery and decision making? Not a lot, as the tendency in the local Labour Party is so certain of their righteousness that only their view is the one that should prevail.

Chair of Hounslow Scrutiny Committee Blocks Chiswick Grove Park

Traffic Scheme Review

Did he receive hundreds of E-Mails in support of Labour Policy?

Can he prove it? If not, he should resign immediately

Fighting the International Curse of People Trafficking

Last Wednesday, the congregation of St Nicholas Parish Church hosted a meeting of local people concerned about the prevention of trafficking people into the UK. The provisions of the Modern Slavery act are associated with the criminalisation of moving people from one jurisdiction to another with unlawful intent.

The outcome of the meeting was a wholehearted appreciation for the officer from the Metropolitan Police Service, for the officer of Hounslow Borough Council, and the representative of Trafik (a charity that supports victims), all of whom contributed evidence, valuable insights and commitment to the relief of those unfortunate enough to fall into the hands of gangs of modern-day body snatchers.

The link to the Prevent strategy, supported by the UK Government, was hugely important.

It is unfortunate that I cannot name these outstanding individuals who are providing a solid counter to a scourge of modern living.

The meeting was supported by Councillor Gabriella Giles (Chiswick Riverside), giving views and perspectives and who asked for specific detailed information on the current level of activity that countered the threats identified, and Councillor Jo Biddolph (Chiswick, Gunnersbury Park) who urged active involvement of groups such as the one assembled for the meeting and their views, values and capacity to support the Prevent strategy. The meeting was a huge success. The meeting provides a basis for concerned volunteers to commit to active support for those individuals brought into the UK under false pretences.

Delivering support and value for the people of Chiswick

Fighting for the rights of Hounslow Tenants and Right to Buy Leaseholders

Another major meeting in Chiswick is the weekly surgery held by Conservative Councillors every Saturday morning in the Chiswick Library. This week I hosted a variety of residents raising different issues of which many were connected to housing policy.

One complaint was made by a tenant, being required to sign a document without explanation by housing officers, another complaint was from a leaseholder about a shoddy roof repair that involved a huge capital cost which was never properly justified by Hounslow Housing officers. Irrespective of the justification for these propositions, the people involved were perplexed and unhappy,

More on this when we get a response from Hounslow

Fighting for the rights of Hounslow Employees

Another case involved an employee of a Hounslow agency who believed that deductions from his income were unjustified and unexplained. This is now a whistleblowing case where the individual concerned is entitled to protection under employment law. So, all in all, we have people who sincerely believe that they have been discriminated against by the discrepant behaviour of Hounslow Borough Council employees.

More on this when we get a response from Hounslow

Fighting for the rights of Chiswick: A new Prospect

It is time to break up the London Borough of Hounslow and expel Ealing. People in Chiswick want their roads and streets back. The cycle super highway down Chiswick High Road is a health and safety disaster for cyclists, pedestrians, bus passengers, tradesmen, private vehicles and commercial traffic,

The low traffic neighbourhoods have been created by traffic department officers in Ealing and Hounslow, few of whom intimately have knowledge of the local area, and who have created no go areas and physical barriers to communication that damage the social and economic fabric of the surrounding tax paying population.

The residents of Chiswick are captured by three wards in Hounslow and one ward in Ealing, yet the area of W4 and the concept of what Chiswick means to its residents is still a strong heartbeat that needs to be recognised politically. In 2024 we have our first opportunity at independent existence since 1965 when we are due a general election with two new Parliamentary Seats of Chiswick and Hammersmith and Brentford and Isleworth. Voters need to ensure that local issues predominate, protecting our future from the malevolence of those who enjoy our taxes but don’t give back the values we supply.

More on this when we get any response from Hounslow

Cllr Gerald McGregor

gerald.mcgregor@hounslow.gov.uk

07866 784821

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Tuesday 9th May at 7:00pm: Overview and Scrutiny

Tuesday, 16th May at 7.00pm: Cabinet

Tuesday, 23rd May at 7.30pm Borough Council AGM

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 (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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