Over the last five years I tried to listen and deliver for local people.
Piccadilly line trains will now stop at Turnham Green when the signalling upgrade has completed. I have helped to rebuild and improve Kew Bridge Station House, and am now fighting with my Action Team to improve the overcrowded and unsafe Gunnersbury Station.
I persuaded Hounslow Council to allow 30 minutes of free parking on shopping streets. Alongside that, I’ve run three Jobs Fairs for local people looking for work, which have contributed to a fall in unemployment by 37%. However, the most important thing for me is always the individual emails and queries that I have been able to help with – and I’ve helped with nearly 20,000 cases now.
I am also part of a Government that is delivering for Britain. We have cut the deficit by a half, cut income tax by 26 million people, ensured another million children are in outstanding schools and increased the state pension by £800. Our plans are having an effect locally too. Last month, I wrote about how the Conservatives’ long-term economic plan was working for West London. I am pleased to tell you that a month on, we have just hit a new milestone. Youth unemployment is now down by a half since I was elected in May 2010. That means more young people taking that vital step into the world of work and earning their own money to do with it as they want.
On Friday last week, I was with the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and the Chancellor, George Osborne, to launch our long-term economic plan for London. I was delighted to learn that Hounslow will get a share of 30,000 new homes as part of a new ‘Housing Zone’. Housing is one of the biggest issues for Londoners. As I have always said, we need more housing and we need it to be affordable. With 400,000 new homes, I believe our long-term plan for London will deliver that.
Finally, as the local Member of Parliament, I have met hundreds of residents at my advice surgeries. Some of you will know that I have also been running ‘MP Direct’ public meetings over the last couple of months on topics that matter to local people, taking place all over the constituency.
For the next five years I need your help to identify what you want me to prioritise so I can keep on delivering. Please do take the time to come along and speak to me about what local issues are affecting you. It is only with your feedback that I can focus on delivering the changes that you want in West London. Send an email to mary.macleod.mp@parliament.uk for more information about any of these. I have listed my next three meetings below:
§ Thursday 26 February | 7-8pm | Brentford Holiday Inn: Brentford Regeneration
§ Wednesday 11 March | 7-8.30pm | West Thames College: Heathrow expansion
§ Thursday 26 March | 7-8pm | Crown and Anchor Pub: Chat About Chiswick
