Putting residents first
24 November 2025
Dear resident
As I said when elected, my priority will always be to represent and support local people and to give you a voice.
So I’ve been working to protect and improve people’s homes – whether the armed forces veterans at Stoll in Fulham, the houseboats in Chelsea, those living in social housing or renting privately, or house owners suffering from bad neighbours.
I’ve also been focusing on the economic growth we need to fund our local services – supporting local high-tech jobs, boosting small firms by reducing Brexit red tape, and in my trade envoy role, expanding trade with francophone West Africa.
Across the country, the government is supporting people with the cost of living – energy costs, train fares, rent rises and more. And I’m delighted by the new focus on music and arts in schools to open these up to all children.
One big cloud on the horizon is the threat to shops on the King’s Road from huge rent rises by the council. Do please sign my petition below.
On a happier note, I’ve been enjoying the Christmas lights in Chelsea – and I’m looking forward to the Christmas market on 6 December in North End Road, Fulham. I started these traffic-free markets when I was a Fulham councillor and they’re always a lot of fun. This year, we’re promised everything from mulled wine to an Elvis tribute act!
As always, if there’s anything I can do to help you, please do get in touch.
Best wishes
Ben
Rent rises threaten King’s Road shops
It shocks me that Kensington & Chelsea councillors are threatening the future of shops and health services that serve the community – including many people living on very low incomes – in the World’s End stretch of the King’s Road.
A 200% rent increase for the local NHS dentist, Teeth and Smiles, who has been there since 1999, is shameful. If he’s forced to stop doing NHS work because of this hike, residents of all backgrounds will suffer.
A 150% rent increase for The Good Practice GP surgery is also shocking. Other shops on the parade – including the bakery, pharmacy, launderette and newsagents – face or have faced hefty rent increases hugely above inflation.
The Evening Standard reveals that the council has been doing this for at least two years. Some local shops have already had to accept the inflated new terms and are now worried about the future.
Tenants tell me that these crushing increases are being applied without transparency or fairness, using backdated valuations that do not reflect the nature of the premises, and employing heavy-handed private surveyors.
The council should be nurturing local health services and businesses, not threatening their future. If you agree that they need to think again, please sign my petition.
Stoll veterans now safely in new homes
I was proud to join Stoll armed forces veterans for the opening of their new homes at Valour House in Fulham, alongside Veterans Minister Louise Sandher-Jones and Hammersmith & Fulham Council Leader Stephen Cowan.
Championing the Stoll veterans as they faced eviction and finding them new homes locally has been one of my greatest privileges.
I’m pleased by the government’s commitment to those who have served, with a new veterans’ strategy. High street centres will support veterans’ health, housing, employment, finance and wellbeing. We’re tackling veteran homelessness, upgrading military homes and giving £2 million to maintain war memorials across the country.
A ray of hope for the Chelsea houseboats
Residents tell me that the 14 bus, which is meant to replace the 414, is regularly overcrowded, especially at rush hours. At my request, TfL did a usage survey before the summer.
Finally, some light at the end of the tunnel for our iconic Chelsea Reach houseboat community. Companies owned by the predatory landlord behind the Chelsea Yacht and Boat Company – which has the lease on the marina and has put residents through years of struggle, threats and evictions – have been placed into administration.
I will continue to work closely with the houseboat owners to support them – including keeping an eye on the role of the Port of London Authority. I strongly hope the community will get the chance to run the moorings itself, placing the future of Chelsea Reach in the hands of the people who live there.
Giving social housing residents a voice
Giving residents a voice remains at the heart of my work and I’m continuing to bring residents and their landlords together to tackle issues on our estates.
At Nye Bevan House in Fulham, after tenants told me they felt neglected by landlord Notting Hill Genesis (NHG), I convened a meeting for them with NHG’s top team. We went through repairs, maintenance, cleanliness, recycling, disabled parking and the overall condition of the estate.
Council residents on the Clem Attlee Estate in Fulham also turned out in numbers to meet senior council staff and raise issues directly.
I’m grateful to NHG and H&F Council for committing to make improvements and we’ll be meeting again in the new year to track progress.
Why no action on derelict Chelsea house?
Some things simply baffle me. Such as why Kensington & Chelsea Council refuses to act against a local homeowner who has left his large Chelsea house and garden empty for years, allowing it to fall into such disrepair that it is now damaging his neighbours’ properties.
A powerful piece in last weekend’s Mail on Sunday, co-authored by the Chelsea Citizen’s Rob McGibbon, highlights the severity of the situation.
On behalf of the neighbours, I’ve raised this issue with the council repeatedly. They say they issued the homeowner a notice to remedy the problem in 2016 – but nearly a decade later, the house remains neglected and the damage continues.
The council’s ongoing lack of action is baffling. Meanwhile, residents are suffering.
Keeping our streets safe
At a public meeting last month, residents and I heard that stronger reporting and better resource sharing are helping police tackle crime in Chelsea. I’m meeting Fulham’s brand new police superintendent, Pali Grewal, this week to discuss his priorities for Fulham.
Violent crime is down nearly 12% across London, and homicides are down 16% – yet residents remain deeply concerned about phone theft and shoplifting.
Local police welcomed the new Crime and Policing Bill, which gives them stronger powers here – allowing warrantless entry to search for tracked stolen phones, overturning the previous government’s effective immunity for shoplifting under £200, and creating a new offence for assaulting retail workers.
The Bill also strengthens police powers against child abuse, knife crime, and reckless driving.
Celebrating local high-tech job growth
I was delighted to host local school students, senior ministers and Hammersmith & Fulham leaders in the House of Commons last month to celebrate H&F Council’s Pathway Bond – and to hear firsthand how it is connecting students to careers in science, technology, engineering, maths, medicine and media (STEM³).
This is part of H&F’s Upstream London industrial strategy, which has attracted billions in business investment and created thousands of new STEM³ jobs.
It was great to hear Darren Jones MP, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, say: “We need to learn from Hammersmith & Fulham’s success. This is the type of example that shouldn’t be unique – it should be normal and business as usual for communities across the country.”
Supporting growth by tackling Brexit red tape
The swiftest route to growth and reducing prices is to drain the swamp of red tape stifling our business since we left the EU single market. For that, we need allies in the EU – to rebuild the political friendships damaged not just by Brexit itself but by the oafish way Boris’s negotiators behaved.
So I was glad last week to get together with European MPs (MEPs) in the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly (PPA). This brings MPs and MEPs together twice a year to talk about strengthening our cooperation under the withdrawal agreement.
I thought it important to say we understood how painful Brexit had been for the EU as well as the UK. If we’re going to reset the relationship and strengthen the UK economy, we need to act with ambition, yes, but also with some humility.
There was broad agreement we’re making good progress: working together against Russian aggression, cutting red tape and prices on food imports and exports, clean energy collaboration, mobility for young people and the foundations of a digital and AI partnership.
These could all make life better and safer for people in both the UK and EU. But to get there, we need swifter and deeper action – a wider UK-EU youth experience scheme, the right for touring artists to work freely across Europe again, and acceptance of each other’s professional qualifications and product safety checks.
All this is just a start. In my view, when it comes to putting right the damage of Brexit, we can’t be too ambitious.
Boosting trade with francophone West Africa
As UK trade envoy for Morocco and francophone West Africa, I was proud to lead the British delegation this month to the fourth West and Central African Forum in Lomé, Togo.
UK-francophone African trade grew 25% last year, and we’re aiming even higher.
I met Togo’s President Gnassingbé and held other bilateral talks, helping to advance major UK-backed projects. With over 1,000 participants from the UK and ten francophone countries, the forum boosted connections, deals and opportunities.
We’re championing genuine partnership that benefits everyone – offering practical financing and support for skills, SMEs and infrastructure in areas such as energy, transport, digital, health and responsible mining.
See this lively short video for a flavour of the event and a bit of my speech in English. And see here at 1’17”for my interview in French on Togo’s main TV news.
What else I’ve been doing as your MP
In Chelsea and Fulham
- Moved by Revd Peter Dobson’s powerful sermon at All Saints’ Church, Fulham on Remembrance Sunday (I alternate between Chelsea and Fulham ceremonies each year
- Addressed the Fulham Good Neighbours lively Annual General Meeting
- Spoke about kindness through service at Thomas’s Academy
- Impressed by confident questioning from Hurlingham Academy, Chelsea Academy and Burlington House School students
- Welcomed that Ashburnham Primary and Normand Croft Primary will benefit from the £2.7m School Filters Programme to clean up classroom air
- Met with TfL to get to the bottom of delays and disruption on the District line
- Brought residents and TfL together to talk about road safety and congestion on Chelsea Embankment
- Heard from teenage boys at Chelsea Youth Club
- Celebrated local small firms at the West London Chamber of Commerce Business Awards
- Spoke and mingled at the Chelsea Society and Fulham Society AGMs
- Attended Sir Peter Bazalgette’s planting of a mulberry tree in Chelsea Embankment Gardens to mark 150 years of the Thames Embankments, followed by the Cheyne Walk Trust AGM
- Joined thousands of others in Chelsea for the Christmas lights switch on
- Welcomed Fulham Palace’s £500,000 Arts Council boost to keep it free and open for all
In Parliament
- Met Chelsea Pensioners in Parliament after they laid a remembrance wreath for Gurkhas at the Cenotaph
- Pressed the Transport Secretary not to water down the “noise test” for any Heathrow expansion
- Welcomed the Renters’ Rights Act to make homes safer and tenancies more secure
- Called for supermarkets to discount healthier food to make it accessible to everyone – part of the Health and Social Care Committee’s inquiry into food and obesity
- Criticised billboard giants for refusing to rent space to young people to challenge health-damaging junk food ads
- Urged action on structural racism so the NHS serves everyone equally (Black women are 2.3 times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth)
- Welcomed the government’s £80m three-year funding for children’s hospices to provide stability
- Backed Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook’s decision to call in managing agent FirstPort to improve services for residents
- Addressed the Young Königswinter British-German conference in Berlin
National action, local impact
Support with winter energy costs
Winter fuel payments to pensioners are back. This winter, all pensioners will automatically get £100-£300, with higher earners paying some back through tax.
For eligible households living on a low income, the Warm Home Discount will automatically take £150 off the electricity bill by March 2026, and Cold Weather Payments will automatically contribute £25 when temperatures drop to freezing for a week.
Citizens Advice has details here.
New rights for renters
If you’re among the nearly two in five people in Chelsea and Fulham who rents privately, or the one in five living in social housing, big changes will make your home safer and tenancy more secure.
Awaab’s Law now requires landlords to fix hazards like damp and mould within strict time limits – starting with social housing and extending to private rentals next year.
And from 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act will end “no-fault” evictions, ban rental bidding wars, cap upfront rent to one month, replace fixed-term contracts with rolling tenancies, and give tenants the right to request a pet.
Labour has delivered in 15 months what the Conservatives failed to do in 14 years.
Cheaper train travel
To help with rail costs, we’re freezing all regulated rail fares until March 2027 for the first time in 30 years.
For too long, rail users have faced relentless fare hikes, with prices rising by 60% between 2010 and 2024.
This freeze will save commuters with the most expensive season tickets up to £300 per year and give all passengers much-needed certainty on prices.
Arts for children from all backrgounds
Every child in Chelsea and Fulham should have access to sport, the arts and music regardless of school or family income. So we’re updating the National Curriculum to give them a guaranteed “core enrichment entitlement”.
They’ll also be taught important life skills such as identifying misinformation, and financial literacy.
An end to ticket touting
To help make life more affordable, we’ll be changing the law to outlaw reselling tickets above face value for concerts, theatre, comedy and sports events.
Resale platforms will also face fee caps. Resale ticket prices could fall by around £37.
Free morning-after pill
To cut the cost of emergency contraception, we’re making the morning-after pill available free on the NHS. In more good news, NHS waiting lists have fallen by 230,000 since the election.
Banning plastic wet-wipes
To reduce environmental damage, from 2027 we’re banning plastic wet wipes, which break down into microplastics that harm wildlife.
This should also save people money as the wipes account for 94% of sewer blockages and the £200m repair cost gets passed onto households.
Phasing out animal testing
We’re ending animal testing for cosmetics and medicines – by 2026 for skin and eye irritation tests, and by 2027 for tests on mice.
£75 million will go on developing more reliable alternative methods.
Giving something back
If you’re one of the many people in our community who wants to give something back but isn’t sure where to start, why not have a look at the charities H&F Giving and the Kensington & Chelsea Foundation, who do so much to improve local people’s lives? They run their own projects and also support a range of other local charities.
To make a donation or talk to them about opportunities to get involved, please contact H&F Giving here and the Kensington & Chelsea Foundation here.
