The Buck Stops with Me After Assembly Election Defeat

Chiswick Gunnersbury councillor Ron Mushiso reports back

Cllr Ron Mushiso

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May 12, 2024

First and foremost, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the residents of Chiswick and beyond who voted earlier this month in the Mayoral elections. While I was disappointed with the outcome, finishing third to the Liberal Democrats and Labour in South West London, I take immense pride in the London Assembly campaign we fought. With a small but dedicated team, we worked tirelessly across the three London Boroughs of Hounslow, Kingston Upon Thames, and Richmond Upon Thames.

The goal of my campaign was to promote a collaborative and forward-looking brand of politics, one that would seek to transcend partisanship. I felt those were the attributes required of the next Assembly Member. I was confident that I had the form to take on this task.

I have shown throughout my tenure as a Councillor, a willingness to work across party for the good of our communities. I turn to our campaign to build the Green Wall at St Mary’s Primary School, where I worked across party including with Mayor Sadiq Khan to raise the funds that were needed for that project. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I reached out to Labour councillors asking them to join me in the drive to collect second hand laptops and donate them to our most disadvantaged school aged children, so that they were able to have access to online learning like their peers. More recently, I was to able introduce two motions at Borough Council with cross party support. One was for the rollout and use of Cargo Bikes as an environmentally friendly mode of goods transportation and the other was to formally recognise the Tamil community in our borough, by making January, the Tamil Heritage Month starting in 2025.

Gareth Roberts given his acceptance speech after South West constituency win

I have always sought to work with people from across the political divide. However, in an election campaign such the Mayoral race, it was challenging to steer this course amidst this high-profile race, where sharp contrasts between the two leading Mayoral candidates were necessary. Mayor Sadiq Khan was defending his record of eight years in charge of London, while our candidate, Susan Hall AM, focused her attentions on policy changes to improve the lives of Londoners, particularly scrapping the ULEZ expansion amid the cost of living crisis and bolstering law and order in London amid the raising crime figures.

My role as a GLA candidate was to promote our Conservative candidate, knowing that I would later have to hold her or Sadiq Khan accountable, should one of them be triumphant. Despite this objective, I could not motivate enough people to vote for me in my GLA campaign.

People tell me that the national picture did not help my cause. I simply cannot accept this narrative because I went into these elections believing I had the policies and vision to win. I did not go into the election thinking of the national picture; therefore, I do not wish to make that excuse now in hindsight. I take full responsibility for not convincing enough people to vote for my brand of politics.

I am confident however, that as we approach the General Election, parliamentary candidates like Andrew Dinsmore (Chiswick and Hammersmith) and Laura Blumenthal (Brentford and Isleworth) will make their case for their constituencies and pick up from where our campaign has left off. Andrew and Laura are exactly the fresh set of rising stars needed in Parliament. I had the privilege of working alongside them on my campaign and I found them both appealing to the moderate, inclusive, and tolerant wing of the Conservative Party that resonates in these parts of London. This month’s elections were in many ways, their warmup acts in their fight to win back who voter who chose Labour and the Lib Dems.

The last time this GLA seat was contested was in 2021, amidst the successful vaccine rollout, which led to our best local elections results since 2008. Across the country, Conservative councillors worked hard to deliver low council taxes, fill more potholes, and offer superior services. Meanwhile, Labour administrations across the country have led higher taxes and poorer public services, as exemplified in Hounslow Borough Council, where taxes have risen, yet vital services are on the decline.

Community work in Chiswick will continue

I congratulate Gareth Roberts AM and his Lib Dem team for winning in South West London, and Mayor Sadiq Khan for securing a historic third term. I hope Mayor Khan, with a renewed mandate, will steer away from the blame-game race to the bottom politics that has defined his legacy thus far.

I will reserve my final judgment until I see how he approaches the next 100 days. In the meantime, I will return to my duties serving Chiswick Gunnersbury, working closely with residents and council officers to help address the critical issues concerning our community, namely crime, and policing.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 2024/25

Cabinet Meetings

Tuesday 14 May 2024 7:00 pm

6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB

Council Meetings

Tuesday 28th May 2024 7.30pm -   (The Annual Statutory General Meeting of the Borough Council)

6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB

Open to the Public

Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Monday 13th May 2024

6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB

During weekends, residents can still access council services on-line or via emergency numbers:
To inform the council of an emergency, call 020 8583 2222

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

Cllr Peter Thompson peter.thompson@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 395810