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I have again pledged my commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day by signing a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons to honour those who perished in the Holocaust.

With 27th January marking the 67th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and extermination camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Holocaust Educational Trust places a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons every year to give MPs the opportunity to remember those who were persecuted and murdered during the Holocaust - and to support a ‘Legacy of… » Read more

Conservative-controlled Westminster City Council's parking controls, and particularly their most recent round of proposals, have generated more local controversy than almost any issue I can remember. And although much of what is proposed and under discussion relates to the west end, Westminster council's parking policies have an impact far wider than that specific local dimension.

That is becaise the issue of parking income, and how it is generated and distributed, needs to be seen in the wider context of revenue-raising and local taxation. As a result, everyone in the… » Read more

Apart from being a somewhat iconic enterprise locally, the Big Table is precisely the kind of small business that is crucial to the country's economic recovery and the economic health of the area.

It was therefore deeply saddening that Crossrail served a Compulsory Purchase Order for the land on 24th June 2011 to make way for a substantial electrical sub-station as part of the scheme. While the Big Table won a temporary reprieve until January 2012, the closure still appears inevitable.

While the Big Table lies just outside the boundaries… » Read more

Having received substantial volumes of constituency correspondence over the last few years I have become increasingly concerned about the problem of subterranean basement developments.

However, it was not until I accepted an invitation to see one of the larger basement developments in NW8 a couple of weeks ago that it hit home to me just what an extraordinary change we are seeing in some of our inner-city communities.

I saw a basement excavation stretching between Hamilton terrace and the mews behind it in St John's Wood. It seemed that the… » Read more

Research recently carried out by the GLA showed that 24% of Londoners are in fuel poverty - meaning that they have to spend more than 10% of their household income on fuel to keep their home in a 'satisfactory' condition.

Many Londoners who are eligible for assistance with heating their homes or with free loft insulation and cavity wall insulation don't know they can get help, or where to find it.

The Mayor's fourth ‘Know your rights' campaign aims to encourage people to find… » Read more

Today marks the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year festival. Last Saturday I had the pleasure of visiting the Jewish Liberal Synagogue to meet local children who had taken part in designing Rosh Hashanah cards and awarding a prize for the winning entry (pictured).

Reports that St Mary's Hospital is pencilled in for closure in order to realise the development potential of the prime central London site have been swiftly denied.

I am encouraged by the emphatic rebuttal on the part of the Imperial Hospital Trust. The trouble is that the Trust has a massive financial shortfall to deal with, at a time of unprecedented instability in the NHS, and all choices are going to be difficult ones. Worse still, the Conservatives are pushing through a reckless, wasteful… » Read more

With MPs meeting to vote on the final report stage of the Health and Social Care Bill next week this is crunch-time for the NHS.

Having only allowed two weeks to vote on the new bill earlier this summer there is a genuine concern that ministers are looking to railroad this legislation through the Commons. MPs will get only two days to debate these amendments next week, as the prime minister and his deputy hope to square everything off before their party conferences.

Individuals and organisations concerned about… » Read more

The riots sweeping through our cities - the worst since the early 1980s - are tragic, inexcusable and unjustifiable.

Our hearts go out to the victims, and our grateful thanks go out to the emergency services, who have worked exceptionally hard and with real courage. This is especially the case as the level of policing does not seem to have been sufficient over the weekend, leaving them at a disadvantage in some areas.

The absolute priority must be to restore order to the streets, to make sure there are sufficient police for the task, and then to review the level… » Read more

Westminster is set to lose six Sergeants from the Safer Neighbourhhod Teams across the borough. In four residential areas, eight wards will have to share four Sergeants insted of having their own Sergeant. In addition, it has been suggested that existing Sergeants will have to reapply for their jobs and even if they are successful they may be allocated to a new, unfamiliar Ward.

The loss of the six Sergeant posts includes:

Harrow Road & Maida Vale Wards Safer Neighbourhood Team - supervised by 1 Sergeant… » Read more