Hounslow stands at a genuine point of inflection.
After years of Labour control, residents across our borough face a clear and pressing choice: continue down a path of mismanagement and self-indulgence, or vote Conservative and begin the serious work of putting Hounslow back on track.
The recent budget exposed the scale of the problem. This council was facing a projected medium-term funding gap of around £91 million. It took a £21 million uplift in government funding, delivered through the local government finance settlement, to help stabilise the situation after years of poor local financial management.
That should have been a moment for reset. A chance to change course, protect residents and restore discipline to the council’s finances.
Instead, Labour chose to squeeze households even further.
Council Tax is rising by the maximum 4.99%. Rents are increasing. Businesses continue to feel the pressure. Yet despite taking more, this administration is still cutting frontline services, including scrapping a dedicated domestic violence team.
That is not necessity. That is a political choice.
A choice to demand more from residents while failing to confront the inefficiencies at the heart of this council.
Even more worrying is where the money is going. Funding has been found for enforcement cameras and to fund an expanding layer of paid political roles, while essential services are reduced. At a time when families are already stretched to their limits, residents are right to ask who this council is really working for.
Credit must go to local media outlets such as The Hounslow Herald and Brentford TV, alongside our Leader of the Opposition, Peter Thompson, for holding the council to account. The recent flood of glossy, taxpayer-funded videos pushed through council channels was nothing short of a desperate attempt to rewrite reality.
Residents saw through it immediately. You cannot paper over lived experience with scripted messaging. People see the state of their roads, they feel concerns about safety, and they experience the decline in services firsthand.
We were given just eight days to review the budget. In that time, Conservative councillors identified up to £1.9 million in recurring savings without touching core frontline services. Eight days. It begs the question, what has Labour been doing with years of control?
This is not just about what is going wrong. It is about what Hounslow could become.
Our Conservative plan focuses on what residents consistently tell us matters most: better roads and pavements, safer streets, and a council that manages its finances responsibly.
These are practical commitments that would make a real difference to daily life.
I have seen what can be achieved when you focus on delivery. In Cranford, I made a promise to residents that I would fight for real investment in our area. Securing funding to improve the playground and outdoor gym in Avenue Park was not easy. It took persistence, pressure and a refusal to accept “no” for an answer, but we delivered.
Earlier this month, the Avenue Park Steering Group, which I chair, secured further funding to improve the park. This group brings together councillors, council officers and passionate community organisations. Together, we are delivering real change, from a new perimeter path to upgraded tennis courts and improved landscaping that supports biodiversity.
For the first time in decades, Cranford is seeing meaningful investment in its green spaces. That fills me with pride. It shows what happens when people come together with a shared purpose and a determination to deliver.
This is the ward I grew up in, and this work will be part of my lasting legacy.
This month also raised serious concerns about how this council treats local democracy. I attended the Chiswick Area Forum, the only public forum that went ahead, chaired by a Conservative. Labour cancelled the rest.
These forums are not a luxury. They are the minimum residents should expect. If councillors are not willing to listen, openly and publicly, then what is the point?
At that meeting, I put an important question directly to the police. They are doing a good job in Chiswick Gunnersbury, often under real pressure and with limited resources. That is exactly why we need to support them properly.
I raised the need for more facial recognition cameras and permanent CCTV along Chiswick High Road to help tackle crime, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. This is something residents raise with me time and again on the doorstep. Better surveillance is not about replacing policing, it is about strengthening it and enabling officers to be more effective where it matters most.
Hounslow now faces a defining moment.
We can continue with higher taxes, declining services and political theatre.
Or we can choose a council that is focused, disciplined and firmly on the side of its residents.
