Looking Ahead: Delivering for Residents in 2025
Chiswick Riverside councillor Peter Thompson reports back
Cllr Peter Thompson
January 4, 2025
Happy New Year!
As we step into 2025, it’s a great time to reflect on the work we accomplished last year and to outline our vision for the year ahead. The Conservative Group has been steadfast in its mission to represent the interests of residents across Hounslow, ensuring their voices are heard loud and clear at every level of decision-making. Our commitment to holding the Labour administration to account, campaigning on key issues, and standing up for our communities remains as strong as ever.
Reflecting on 2024
Last year was a busy one for the Conservative Group. We:
- Challenged the Labour-run Council on financial mismanagement, highlighting overspending and inefficiencies that have affected essential services. Through rigorous scrutiny, we uncovered areas where taxpayers' money was not being wisely spent and demanded greater transparency.
- Fought for local residents on critical issues such as housing, planning, and transport. Whether it was standing against overdevelopment, opposing poorly thought-out Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes, or advocating for fairer parking policies, we were always on your side.
- Delivered solutions through casework for countless residents who came to us for help with housing repairs, council tax issues, and more. Our councillors worked tirelessly to resolve these problems and ensure residents received the support they deserve.
- Engaged with communities through campaigns and outreach events. From addressing local concerns in Hanworth Village to ensuring residents in Chiswick and beyond felt represented, we worked hard to connect with as many people as possible.
2025: A Year of Opportunities and Challenges
This year, we’ll continue building on our successes and addressing the pressing issues facing our borough. Here’s what’s on the agenda so far:
Council Budget Setting: Putting Residents First
With the budget-setting meeting fast approaching, the Labour administration is once again set to present their financial plan. We’ll scrutinise every line, ensuring that wasteful spending is called out and taxpayers’ money is redirected to front-line services. We’ll fight to protect funding for essential services, particularly in areas like social care, housing, and environmental management.
The Local Government Settlement outlines a Settlement Funding Assessment of £67.2 million for Hounslow, which includes £23.77 million in Social Care Grants and additional funding for market sustainability and improvement. While these measures are welcome, they fall short of addressing the borough’s rising costs and service demands. Hounslow’s financial strategy raises concerns, as the council plans to rely on reserves (£14.7 million) to close a £28.3 million budget gap for 2025/26. This reliance on one-off measures is unsustainable and risks future financial stability.
We’ll question the council’s proposals for a Council Tax increase of up to 4.99% and new fees like emissions-based parking charges, which are likely to disproportionately impact low-income families. Furthermore, the continued financial support for underperforming ventures such as Lampton 360, which projects a loss of £11.3 million, highlights poor prioritisation of taxpayer resources. Our focus will be on advocating for better financial management and ensuring essential services are safeguarded without placing undue burden on residents.
Holding Labour to Account
The Labour administration’s policies have had significant consequences for residents across Hounslow. We’ll continue to question their decisions, challenge their priorities, and offer alternative solutions where they fall short. Expect us to shine a spotlight on issues such as:
- Mismanagement of housing repairs and maintenance contracts.
- The ongoing challenges in waste collection and street cleaning services.
- Questionable planning decisions that disregard community feedback.
Campaigning for Change
2025 will see us redoubling our campaigning efforts across the borough. Whether it’s pushing for better local transport, fairer council tax, or improved access to green spaces, we’re committed to advocating for the changes residents want to see. Look out for our team at your local high streets, knocking on doors, and hosting community forums.
Representing Residents Every Day
Our councillors will continue to take on casework with the same dedication as always. No issue is too big or small, and we encourage residents to reach out if they need support or advice.
Preparing for 2026 Local Elections
While 2026 might seem far off, we know the importance of planning ahead. We’ll use this year to engage even more with residents, ensure our policies resonate with the community, and prepare for the next local elections. Our goal is clear: to provide Hounslow with a fresh Conservative vision that puts residents first.
Speak to us
If you’re passionate about making a difference in your community, there’s never been a better time to get involved. Whether you’re interested in campaigning, sharing ideas, or simply lending a hand, we’d love to hear from you. Together, we can make 2025 a year of real progress for Hounslow.
As always, we’re here to listen, act, and deliver for you. Let’s make this year a great one for our boroughCllr Peter Thompson
peter.thompson@hounslow.gov.uk
07977 395810
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 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 Gabriella Giles gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk 07966 270823
Cllr Peter Thompson peter.thompson@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 395810
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |