Looking Back on Events During Recess as Parliament Returns
Report back from Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick
Lord Alf Dubs at the launch of his autobiography at the Czech Embassy
September 4, 2026
Last week saw the return of Parliament after summer recess with new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first week in Parliament since taking on his new role. I have spent the last few weeks getting to grips with my new role as Solicitor General and had a busy diary of appointments in the first sitting week since I was appointed.
During recess I was lucky to get the chance to attend H&F Spotlight, a brilliant showcase of local talent. It was an important celebration of creativity and diversity and raised much needed funds for H&F Giving to support our local community.
On the topic of local talent, Askew Road Arts Festival is coming up, it will run from 17 th-25 th of September and is a hyper-local arts festival which aims to connect the community. The theme this year is ‘If children are our future…’ and the curators have put together a series of events that help to answer this challenge. You can find out more about events that are on during the festival here.
I was also delighted to attend the launch of Lord Alf Dubs’ autobiography at the Czech Embassy. Alf is a Hammersmith resident and came to England from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939 on the Kindertransport, aged 6. Alf’s story is very moving and his autobiography titled ‘The Boy with the Knapsack: An Extraordinary Life, from the Kindertransport to the House of Lords’ is available on 10 th September.
During August I went along to a wonderful farewell reception for the Chiswick RNLI Lifeboat Station. The event was to honour the crew, volunteers and trustees, and to give them our heartfelt thanks for their outstanding service to Chiswick riverside community since 2002. We wish them all the best in their new location at Wandsworth Lifeboat Station, but they will be missed.
Pembridge Hospice has been closed to inpatients since 2018. Residents, along with Kensington Save our NHS (KENSON) and Hammersmith & Fulham Save our NHS (H&FSON) have come together to apply for an Asset of Community Value to keep the building in community use.
Local NHS management have committed to 46 new enhanced end of life care beds in North-West London. My parliamentary colleague Joe Powell, MP for Kensington & Bayswater is campaigning for at least ten of these new beds to go to Pembridge Hospice to serve the community in Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham and South Brent. You can find out more information and sign his open letter to the NHS here.
A level and GCSE results came out in August and there were brilliant results across Hammersmith & Chiswick. I wish the best to all young people who received results recently with whatever they are moving on to next.
Over recess there was a tragic murder on Askew Road which many will be aware of, my thoughts are with all those impacted by this awful crime. I have attended meetings with the Police regarding the incident and continue to keep in touch with them about constituent’s concerns. I must thank the Police for stepping up patrols in the two weeks following the murder, the strong Police presence has been reassuring for the community.
This weekend (5 th & 6 th September) has been a busy one in Chiswick with Apple Days, Tidefest, and the flower market 6 th anniversary. I really enjoyed spending a full weekend in the constituency and popping into the various events – if you attended there’s a good chance you may have seen me out and about.
Finally, I want to mention annual Upper Room quiz night taking place on 26th September. The sale of the tickets raise money for a wonderful charity and there is also a raffle taking place at the event. You can find more details here: Quiz Night 2026 - The Upper Room.
Best wishes,
Andy
andy@andyslaughter.com
P.S. I send a regular email newsletter to residents about local and national issues. If you would like to receive it then please email me at andy@andyslaughter.com, click this link.
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