A Meeting at 10 Downing Street and the Truth About E-vouchers

Turnham Green ward councillor Ron Mushiso on his week

Councillor Ron Mushiso on the steps of 10 Downing Street
Councillor Ron Mushiso on the steps of 10 Downing Street

1 Year Anniversary of the Chiswick Flower Market

Last weekend I attended the one-year anniversary of the Chiswick Flower Market. It was a sweet moment to be able to celebrate with so many fellow volunteer marshals and all the organisers that have worked so hard behind the scenes well beyond just the last 12 months. A special mention to Ollie Saunders for his leadership in putting together a great team that included Karen Liebreich (Abundance London), Amanda Parker, Victoria Bailey-King, and Bridget Osborne (Chiswick Calendar Editor), who have all worked tirelessly to keep the show on the road.

Commercial and residential estate agents Whitman and Co have also been instrumental in managing a creche for purchases and working alongside Hounslow’s own Dr Bike and a team of willing peddlers who delivered bulk purchases directly to the doors of the customer. If that’s not customer service, then I don’t know what is.

This initiative has been one of Chiswick biggest success stories over these past twelve months. It has brought people back to the High Road and the resulting footfall can only be good for trade. I congratulate the organisers, volunteers and fellow Marshalls including Cllr Ranjit Gill for their hard work. Long may the market continue.

Cllr Mushiso, Jack Emsley (Conservative Candidate) and Cllr Gill at the 1st anniversary of Chiswick Flower market
Cllr Mushiso, Jack Emsley (Conservative Candidate) and Cllr Gill at the Chiswick Flower market

A trip to No. 10 Downing Street

This week I had the pleasure of being invited to Downing Street for a one-to-one meeting with the of the senior advisor on race and inequalities. We discussed, among many things, the report by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities. It something that we are very familiar with as Conservative Councillors. We had four meetings to discuss the findings of the report and will be taking forward some of the recommendations through to our 2022 manifesto. I am delighted with the way my Conservative Councillor colleagues have responded to this and I hope we can secure the mandate in the May 2022 Local Elections so that we can real action. It is about we put a stop to gesture politics and virtue signalling that we often see with current Labour administration at Hounslow Council.

Waterworks Festival vows to support Hogarth Youth Centre with a music workshop.

Some of you may be aware of several events that take place in Gunnersbury Park each year including concerts, secret cinema and music festivals. Often the money raised for hosting these events is filtered back to supporting the park and all its wonderful facilities. This month percolatemusic will be bring the Waterworks music festival. Unfortunately for all of us, tickets sold out in less than 24hrs. However, the organisers were very keen to support some of our community projects in return for the good faith shown by local stakeholders in allowing the festival to go ahead. In a statement they said:

As a business and as individuals we feel strongly that we must do our part to combat social inequality, and this will be a driving factor in the initiatives we involve ourselves in over the years.

It's important to note that it will take us time to understand how we can contribute, whilst we are already making some inroads locally we are very much here to learn and listen and are open to ideas and suggestions wherever they may come from within the community.

We aren't a massive organisation with access to vast resources, so it is important to us to make sure that what we contribute is done so in the most effective ways possible.

Anyone can feel free to contact us any time in this regard at community@waterworksfestival.co.uk

Our first initiative will launch on the 22nd of September and is a collaboration with our media partner Resident Advisor at the Hogarth Youth Centre and is aimed at introducing young adults to the basics of DJing, it will be led by international DJ Ben UFO who is also playing at the festival on the 25th of September. (End Quote)

Cllrs Mushiso, Biddolph and Gill outside Hogarth Youth Centre
Cllrs Mushiso, Biddolph and Gill outside Hogarth Youth Centre

LTN: We seek to listen to and work with resident; they seek to disrupt and divide our community.

LTN issues continue to dominate our inboxes as well as the Chiswick W4 Forum. The lack of response and action from this council administration is telling. The council’s recent stealth announcements on the LTN and the silence from the Cabinet Member or any member of the administration should serve as warning to anyone that believes in big government. Therefore, we Conservatives are generally suspicious of the ‘big state’. If groups like these, running the council at Hounslow, are left unchecked and unchallenged at the ballot box for all these years, the end result is something akin to tyranny. This administration has become a lethargic, self-serving, leviathan entity of the highest order. We need an administration that is energetic, proactive and consultative in its approach to addressing people’s priorities. An administration that has the honour of representing Chiswick residents shouldn’t simply exist to chance the next available funding pot from London Mayor’s office. It should be independent and attentive to the needs of the residents it was elected to serve. It should be honest, accountable and above all, unafraid of scrutiny.

The truth about your E-voucher.

You may have opened your mail recently and found that the Leader of the Council is handing out £20 to every household. I am supportive of helping our local economy but the right thing to do would be to explain that this money is a result of an unspent surplus that was given to the Council by Central Government. But due to the ineffectiveness of the administration, some businesses were not able receive support from the Covid-19 grants and funds supplied by the Government. Instead of working with our local businesses to support them as they recover from the effects of the pandemic, the administration is using the unspent £2.3 million (approximate) to seemingly bolster their prospects at the next election. If this happened in my native Uganda, the press would say the leader is buying votes.

Important upcoming date:

Chiswick Area Forum – Tuesday 14 September, 7pm, at Chiswick Town Hall. Contact Committee Officer Chaspal Sandhu to book your place: CAF@hounslow.gov.uk

Cllr Ron Mushiso
ron.mushiso@hounslow.gov.uk
07976 702887

 

SURGERIES ARE BACK!

We are now able to hold face-to-face surgeries again and, as before, will be available in Chiswick and in Gunnersbury. Chiswick: Every Saturday from 9.30am to 10.30am at Chiswick Library (the nine 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 Turnham Green ward councillors will take this surgery).

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Most council meetings are now taking place in person at Hounslow House though a few, such as licensing panel meetings, continue to be held virtually. Even if they are held in person, you can watch them live (or later) on the council's YouTube channel . Please check for each committee by looking at the agenda reports pack for each committee.

The key upcoming council meetings are:

• 14th September: Chiswick Area Forum at 7pm in Chiswick Town Hall

• 21st September: Meeting of the Borough Council

• 30th September: Audit and Governance Committee

• 12th October: Chiswick Area Forum

• 14th October: Planning Committee

• 19th October: Meeting of the Cabinet

 

Chiswick Homefields ward

Cllr Patrick Barr
patrick.barr@hounslow.gov.uk
07976 703263

Cllr Gerald McGregor
gerald.mcgregor@hounslow.gov.uk
07866 784821

Cllr John Todd
john.todd@hounslow.gov.uk
07866 784651

Chiswick Riverside ward

Cllr Michael Denniss
michael.denniss@hounslow.gov.uk
07976 703274

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

Cllr Sam Hearn
sam.hearn@hounslow.gov.uk
07833 376222

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

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September 11, 2021