Richmond Park News: 18 September 2026

Parliament entered recess on Tuesday, and I am looking forward to a busy upcoming schedule for Liberal Democrat Conference. This, however, means that I will be halting my newsletter until Parliament returns from recess.

My staff and I will continue to monitor and respond to emails as normal, so please do not hesitate to get in touch.

BBC POLITICS LONDON

This afternoon, I appeared on BBC Politics London alongside Labour MP, Rachel Blake, and Conservative MP Louie French.

The Prime Minister is thought to be considering creating nine regional bodies, led by mayors, which would be charged with holding our water companies to account. This is a step-change from his previous assertions that water companies must be nationalised, and I was asked if I would support his new proposal.

Thames Water are in complete disarray as a company, and I welcomed the plans to give mayors greater oversight of their financial and environmental positions.

As mayors are leaders of strategic authorities, they will also be able to ensure a more holistic oversight of planning proposals. This will become even more vital in the coming years, as water companies must upgrade their infrastructure to deal with modern day pressures.

The topic of conversation then turned to discussing shoplifting, as the BBC cited that 70% of the Metropolitan Police’s investigations failed to even identify a suspect. This is the worst record in England.

104 people were linked to over 4,000 incidents of shoplifting in London last year, and Croydon Council have recently announced their support for electronically tagging prolific shoplifters.

The root cause of the proliferation of shoplifting in London, however, is the removal of a deterrence. The police are so under-resourced that they often deprioritise petty thefts, which only encourages this behaviour. 

To close the programme, the panel discussed how politicians should manage their social media platforms to best connect with voters. This discussion was prompted following Zach Polanski produced a video in Urdu, which was mocked tongue in cheek by Sadiq Khan.

I believe that it is important to attempt to reach out to as many people as possible, but a politician’s social media content must remain authentic, above all.

The programme airs on BBC 1 at 10am this Sunday.

GREAT UK WATER BLITZ

Between Friday and Sunday this weekend, the Great UK Water Blitz, in which thousands of people test their local river, lake or canal, is taking place.

Ham and Kingston Riverside received designation as bathing water status over the summer, but recently, the Environment Agency reported potentially toxic levels of blue-green algae at the site. To check the safety of the water at the site, river users and local activists joined me to undertake tests.

The testing measured the levels of nitrate and phosphate in the river, and concerningly, both tests showed moderately high levels of both.

These are not naturally occurring chemicals, and high levels of nitrate suggest the presence of sewage and agricultural waste, while high levels of phosphate are linked with 

The Clean Water Bill was included in the King’s Speech, but it is yet to be announced when it will come to Parliament, but I look forward to pushing the government to ensure our water quality is protected and that water companies are held to account.

I would like to thank my constituent, Antonia, for helping to organise the event, and to all of the activists who gave up their time to attend.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE ON HS2 AND EUSTON

On Monday, I chaired the Public Accounts Committee on delivering HS2 and Euston station. As I was chairing the hearing, I was able to put several questions to our witnesses. 

As we all know too well, the HS2 project has been plagued with issues and subject to continuing rising costs, therefore, this provided us an opportunity to ensure the future of the project stays on track. I asked what assurances can be given that the latest £100 billion estimate cost of completing the project will not increase again in the future. 

Firstly, the Permanent Secretary to the Department for Transport gave a frank account of the work the National Audit Office has done, and reassured me that they have taken on board their advice, whilst recognising there are still challenges to overcome. 

Mark Wild, the CEO of HS2 then explained how the project was unco-ordinated with no clear path to completion in December 2024, however, in re-setting the project, they have taken a 5 step approach to ensure it doesn’t derail again. 

You can find the recording of the full hearing here. 

COMMUNITY NEWS

WETLANDS CENTRE AUDIO DESCRIBED TOUR

Tomorrow, on 19 September, ‘Visit Richmond’ will be holding an audio description tour in the London Wetland Centre, SW13 9WT . Beginning at 10:50am, the route will include visiting World Wetlands, featuring birds from around the world, before heading into the immersive Wildside nature reserve.

The tour is co-delivered by an audio describer and a curator, and is also suitable for blind and visually impaired visitors. The guide costs £5, including admission to the centre. 

For more information, please click here.

KEW GARDENS TUESDAY OFFER

Kew Gardens are piloting an offer of £10 entry on Tuesdays.

The offer is available to all, and it is a significant discount on the £25 standard adult charge. 

I would encourage people to take-up this offer, as Kew Gardens will consider making the Tuesday discount permanent if it proves to attract enough residents.

KINGSTON CYCLING

The following day, on Sunday 20 September, the London Cycling Festival is returning. The family - friendly ride organised by Kingston Cycling Campaign and Full Cycle Community Bike Project aims to give people of all ages and cycling abilities the confidence to consider using a bike for short, everyday local journeys.  

The 6.5 mile group ride will start in Beverley Park; the meeting time is for 10:45am by the pavilion/cafe. There will be ride marshals present to keep everyone safe, full cycle volunteers providing basic free Dr Bike-style TLC before and after the event, and free bike security marking will also be available. 

All participants must be registered to take part and reserve a free spot. 

For further information, please click here.