Richmond Park News: 11 April 2025

While Parliament did adjourn for recess last Tuesday, Members have been recalled tomorrow to discuss British steel. However, recess will then resume on Sunday, and we will return on Tuesday 22 April. Therefore, I will not be producing a newsletter next week, so I am wishing everyone a Happy Easter in advance!

Myself and my staff will continue to monitor and respond to emails as normal, so please do not hesitate to get in contact with me over the Easter break if you require any assistance or wish to raise any matters of concern.

RICHMOND STATION TRAVEL FARES:

Over the past week or so, Richmond Station’s barriers have had a defect which has meant that payments were not being registered when people tapped-in or out of the station. Therefore passengers were charged the full distance fare regardless of the length of their journey.

While technological errors can occur, what is unacceptable was that TfL were not warning customers that they were being overcharged for their travel. 

After receiving this news, I penned a joint letter with Richmond Council Leader and London Assembly Member, Gareth Roberts, to the Deputy Mayor of London for Transport, Seb Dance, to demand that TfL provide full refunds and compensation immediately. 

You can view this letter by clicking here.

Following our letter, TfL have corrected the fares charged, so these should be rectified in your bank accounts. However, I am yet to receive direct confirmation from TfL that all refunds have been issued, so I would strongly recommend that you check if you have been overcharged for your travel over the past two weeks.

You can claim a refund by calling 0343 222 1234, but if you are experiencing difficulties receiving a refund, please do get in contact with my office as my staff would be more than happy to be of assistance.

TEDDINGTON DIRECT RIVER ABSTRACTION UPDATE:

Thames Water have confirmed that, following their sending of Land Interest Questionnaires to relevant parties to confirm ownership and occupancy details, and as part of the ongoing work on the Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA), they will now be contacting those with a Category 3 land interest.

Category 3 land interest may apply to constituents who do not own land directly required for the project but could experience indirect effects such as noise, dust, or vibration during construction. While properties are not directly impacted, you may still be entitled to make a claim.

As the TDRA building process enters the statutory public consultation, and Thames Water nears the end of its environmental impact assessment, I will continue to raise concerns to Thames Water about issues facing constituents. If you have any questions or would like to raise your concerns directly to the Thames Water team about any stage of this process, you can do so by emailing info.TDRA@thameswater.co.uk. 

MEETING WITH BUSINESS OWNERS IN EAST SHEEN:

Last Friday, I held a community meeting with local businesses in East Sheen. This meeting was prompted by East Sheen Business and Retail Association reaching out to my office to state that our high street businesses are facing a crisis if certain issues are not tackled immediately.

While the government’s manifesto included the overhauling of the business rates system, there have not been systemic changes to speak of, while the reduction of the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief Scheme will impact businesses significantly. Many of the business owners raised that their rates, on top of rent, energy bills, and other expenses, are too high and could force them into closing. Following this meeting, I will be writing to the government to call for a complete overhaul of our business rates system and to relay the urgency of the crisis facing our local businesses. 

Local Ward Councillors Julia Cambridge and Margaret Dane were also in attendance to answer any Council related queries that people had, and we have taken away a number of matters to action. 

Alarmingly, an issue that has been repeatedly raised to me over the past 6 months when I have visited businesses, is the matter of shoplifting. While the financial consequences are implicit, the emotional toll that being threatened or having your store broken into is sometimes not understood, and it was clear in the roundtable discussion that many of the owners are concerned about the safety of their staff. 

Richmond Borough’s police force recognises the impact that shoplifting has on our businesses, and they have applied for and been granted a number Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) for identified prolific offenders. These orders will place restrictions on entry to certain places in Richmond, and in some cases, to the borough as a whole, and it will make enforcement and prosecution an easier task if the offenders are found to be in violation of their CBOs. 

I would like to thank all of the business owners who contributed to the discussion and to the Hare and Hounds Pub for accommodating the meeting.

TIMES RADIO PANEL:

Last Sunday, I appeared on the Times Radio Panel, presented by Ayesha Hazarika, to discuss the fallout from President Donald Trump’s global tariffs. 

Since the turn of the year, I have been advocating for the UK to join a new EU Customs Union to help mitigate the effect of any tariffs that the US imposed on us. With last week’s announcement that the US would be imposing higher tariffs on our European counterparts than on the UK, I was challenged whether I still believed that the economic trade-off of joining a Customs Union would be beneficial to Britain.

In response, I stated that Trump has proven to be an unreliable ally, and that we should not be basing our economic policy on the whims of the President. It is also important to note that I have been advocating for the UK to join a new EU Customs Union, which would give us more flexibility. This an agreement that Turkey already has in place, and they too were ‘only’ hit with a 10% tariff hike. 

Despite negotiations with President Trump, the UK has not received preferential treatment, as we have the same basic rate tariffs as countries like Afghanistan. During the programme, I called for Britain to continue to champion free trade and to develop our own industrial strategy to show that we are not reliant on President Trump’s impulses.

You can listen to a clip from the panel discussion by clicking here.

RADIO JACKIE INTERVIEW:

This week, I appeared on Radio Jackie to answer a host of questions relating to local and global matters.

An important issue that I was asked about was the widespread reports that the Royal Parks Police had been cut. My office has spoken with the Head of External Relations at the Metropolitan Police, who confirmed that a decision is yet to be made, but that budgeting decisions and cuts will be announced in the coming weeks. The Parks Police provide an excellent service in ensuring that crime and anti-social behaviour are kept to a minimum in Richmond Park, and if they are to be cut, it will fall onto our already stretched Safer Neighbourhood Teams to cover this area.

As discussed above, President Trump’s tariffs have caused havoc to the global economy, but I was asked whether the Liberal Democrats’ campaign to ‘Buy British’ was an appropriate response to the US Administration’s policy. 

Countries from across the globe have come together and met with President Trump in an attempt to persuade him not to place tariffs on their states, but this has not been effective. President Trump has initiated a trade war, and it is important that we support our local businesses during these tough times. 

You can watch my full interview by clicking here, which includes questions about retaliatory tariffs, the Teddington Direct River Abstraction and sewage dumping in our rivers.

ITV LONDON INTERVIEW:

The historic Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race is set to take place this Sunday, but recent testing of the Thames has raised serious concerns about the safety of the participants. 

River Action, a charity that battles against the pollution in our rivers, has been testing the start and finish lines of the race since 10 March, and their highest reading recorded was 2,267 CFU/100ml (colony-forming units), which is more than double the Environment Agency’s threshold for safe recreational use.

In my interview with ITV London, I stated that the recorded levels of E. coli in the Thames is extremely concerning, and I expressed my concerns for the health and safety of the rowers, while once again calling on Thames Water to take the cleanliness of our rivers seriously.

You can read ITV’s piece on this topic and watch my interview by clicking here.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE:

On Monday this week, in my role as a member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), I spoke to senior civil servants about the work conducted by the Department for Business and Trade.

The Monday session began with discussion on the ongoing Horizon post office scandal, and the importance of ensuring that the Department, which now manages major redress schemes, properly secures appropriate remunerations for victims of the scandal.

I was pleased to receive confirmation that a majority have now reached settlements with Post Office Ltd, and that work is continuing to reach settlements with those who have outstanding claims, or have not yet made their claims. I also pressed Carl Creswell, the Director of Post Office Policy at the Department for Business and Trade, on the financial sustainability of Post Office Ltd, and their confidence in the company being able to provide the redress that victims deserve. 

You can watch the full clip of this PAC session by clicking here.

In the next session, I questioned other civil servants on the support programmes offered by the Department for Business and Trade, and the need for more transparency regarding where the Department spends its resources.

During a cost-of-living and international uncertainty following tariffs set by the Trump Administration, businesses need security and stability, now more than ever. Therefore, I asked the senior civil servants to outline how the Department can be more transparent on the spending of their business support resources, to better allow for businesses to plan their futures. 

CRISIS - HOMELESSNESS DROP-IN:

The most common personal correspondence I receive from my constituents is regarding housing and homelessness. I understand that being threatened with homelessness is a scary experience, and it is especially distressing for those who have children or who are fleeing an abusive household.

Richmond and Kingston Council always attempt to take into account people’s needs when attempting to find suitable accommodation, however, due to the shortage of available properties to both Councils, it is not always possible to meet some requests. 

Frequently, people living in either Richmond or Kingston will have to be housed in areas outside of the boroughs, which can create circumstances in which people are travelling hours to work or school. During the drop-in, a Crisis representative highlighted the Housing, Communities and Local Government’s recent report on the crisis of temporary accommodation and the effects that moving a long distance can have on children.

The impact on young people’s lives of moving home can be significant, and my staff and I always advocate on behalf of our constituents to ensure that people are housed in a safe and appropriate property. 

KEW GARDENS STATION VISIT:

Crossing the platform at Kew Gardens Station is extremely challenging for those who suffer with mobility issues. Alongside the Kew Society and Local Ward Councillor Clare Vollum, I met with TfL for an on-site visit to highlight the need for step-free access to be provided at the station. 

TfL claims that Kew Gardens does have two step-free access options, as individuals can carry on their journey to Richmond Station and then connect back to Kew Gardens Station or people can make the lengthy journey around High Park Road. Both of these options are extremely impractical, as the former could add around 20 minutes to your journey, while the latter presents difficulties for people in wheelchairs due to the bumps on the narrow pavements.

TfL did admit that ideally they would add lifts to the station to ensure that journeys for those suffering with mobility issues are as easy as possible. However, they are constrained by the budgeting available to them.

From emails that I receive on this subject, I know that step-free access would not only help those using the station, but it would also connect people on either side of the bridge to friends and local stores.

There were a number of actions that were taken away from the meeting, and TfL committed to improving the information provided on their Turn Up and Go app and during customer announcements to inform passengers of their ‘step-free’ options and to provide assurances that they will not be charged an additional fare for travelling to Richmond and back.

HOLY TRINITY PRIMARY SCHOOL VISIT:

Last Friday I visited Holy Trinity Primary School to have tea with some of the students and their parents.

One topic that arose from the conversations was the government’s imposition of VAT on private school fees. This is a matter that I have spoken against in Parliament, as it places an unfair onus onto state schools, who already struggle with infrastructure and staffing levels, to accommodate children who will have to drop-out of private schools due to the increase in fees. 

A matter which I have not heard raised to me before is that children and parents are being separated on planes, including on long-haul flights. Having researched this further, I was disappointed to find that there is no enforceable law or regulation on keeping children and parents together on flights. This is despite evidence that it can be psychologically difficult for young children to be sat near strangers for long periods of time, not to mention the risks involved if there is an emergency. I will be looking to raise this in Parliament to push the government to address this matter.

COMMUNITY NEWS:

NATIONAL EDUCATION NATURE PARK:

The National Education Nature Park is a programme commissioned by the Department for Education to boost young people’s involvement in caring for our environment. 

On 23 April between 16:30-18:00, the programme will be hosted at Hogsmill Nature Reserve with a class being taken by scientists from the Natural History Museum. 

This class seeks to inform people how they can use Nature Park’s digital tools to learn about and to protect their own environment, and you can learn more about the event by clicking here.

KEW CHARITY FASHION SHOW:

Mary’s Living and Giving Shop and the Rotary Club of Kew Gardens are putting on a fashion show on Wednesday 14 May to raise money for charity. 

The proceeds will go towards Save the Children and the Rotary Club of Kew Gardens, and those modelling for the show are all volunteers. 

The fashion display is being hosted by St Luke’s Church in Kew, and you can buy tickets or learn more about the show by clicking here.