Richmond Park News: 28 November 2025

THE BUDGET ANNOUNCEMENT:

On Wednesday, the Chancellor announced her much anticipated budget. There was much speculation ahead of the announcement, with the media initially reporting plans to increase income tax, while the markets fluctuated due to the leaks and uncertainty.

Due to these leaks, most members of the public had a good idea of what would be included in the budget a day or two before the announcement, and what we saw was a set of sweeping tax rises, an increase to our welfare bill, but no mention at all of what would be the single biggest net benefit to our economy, closer ties with Europe. 

Addressing Parliament, I spoke to the impact that the Chancellor’s announcement would have on our businesses and employees, while also referencing the impact that the changes will have on local residents in Richmond Park.

To start with, the announcement of a ‘Mansion Tax,’ is an unfair representation of an unfair tax. As I raised in the Chamber, some houses in areas of Richmond and Kingston would not be considered ‘mansions’ by most people even if they are slightly over the £2million mark, while many of these houses will have been bought for much cheaper costs prior to the housing boom. 

I spoke against the government’s depiction of this tax being a fair wealth tax, as households in bordering constituencies will still be paying the same amount of Council Tax as those living in the lowest banded properties in Richmond Park. The Council Tax system is broken, and adding more layers to a broken system doesn’t make it any fairer. 

In addition to this, I referenced the government’s reluctance to speak about Hammersmith Bridge and the impact that the budget will have on Londoners as a whole, and you can read my entire speech by clicking here.

I also appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky News, and Times Radio, to discuss my thoughts on the Treasury’s new commitments, and you can watch clips from these interviews by clicking on the relevant links.

DEPARTMENT FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE ORAL QUESTION:

Following on from my Westminster Hall Debate on tackling the stigma towards suicide, I asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP, whether he would support mine and my constituent’s, Philip Pirie, calls for a government backed public health campaign to encourage people to talk about the issue.

Last week, the government launched the first Men’s Health Strategy, which sought to encourage men to talk about their mental health by working with the Premier League to promote discussions and awareness. However, with suicides accounting for nearly 6,000 deaths in England last year alone, we need an all encompassing campaign which will ensure that the stigma is tackled.

While it was disappointing that Wes Streeting did not commit himself to a meeting, I am pleased that he offered the time of his colleague, Stephen Kinnock MP, the Minister of State for Care, to discuss our campaign in further detail.

You can watch a clip of my question and the Secretary of State’s response by clicking here.

GOVERNMENT STATEMENT ON THE UK’S 2025 CRITICAL MINERAL STRATEGY:

On Monday, in my capacity as Business Spokesperson, I responded to the government’s statement on the new Critical Minerals Strategy.

Critical minerals are important to our national security, economic development, the green transition and regional prosperity. In my speech, I stated my view that the UK must strengthen and regularly update its strategy, as the 2022 plan and the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre are useful foundations, but insufficient.

I welcomed many of the measures in the government’s strategy, including increasing domestic production to boost our national resilience to supply chain changes and the commitment that at least 10% of annual UK demand will be met from domestic production by 2035. However, I did ask what further steps they are taking to reduce reliance on unreliable foreign sources.

I also questioned how the government will ensure that the UK remains competitive with the US and EU, both of which offer substantial incentives for critical minerals processing.

You can watch my speech by clicking here.

PROPOSED ABOLITION OF THE COMMITTEE SYSTEMS FOR COUNCILS:

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill is going through the Commons at the moment, and within this tabled legislation, the government has proposed to prevent Councils from operating via a Committee System. 

Both Richmond and Kingston Council use a Committee System, which is a way of how both Councils govern and function, and I do not believe that the government should be dictating to local authorities, especially those which are well run, what system of governance they should be allowed to use.

You can watch a clip of my question and the Minister’s response by clicking here.

MEETING WITH THE COMMISSIONER OF THE METROPOLITAN POLICE:

Myself, Munira Wilson MP and Bobby Dean MP, met with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, to receive an update on the Met’s operations and performance over the past year.

It was interesting to hear about the redeployment of officers that the Commissioner has conducted to tackle prevalent and serious issues in our society, such as violence against women and girls and knife crime. The Commissioner stated that he was proud of the performance of his team, who have had to operate in a climate of cuts and funding restrictions. Despite this, London is currently on track for our lowest number of murders in the capital since records began.

A pressing local matter is the proposed closure of Twickenham Police Station’s front counter, which is set to permanently close in February 2026. While the Commissioner cited the reduction in use of the front counter and mitigations in place which are being taken to ensure that those arriving at the station can still report a crime, I know that you cannot replace talking about a potentially traumatic crime to someone in person, and I sincerely hope that this will not discourage people from reporting incidents of criminal activity.

A-LEVEL POLITICS EVENT:

Earlier this week, I spoke at an annual conference for A-Level Politics students. Around 2000 students, aged between 16-18, attended the event having travelled from all over the UK. 

One of my favourite things about being an MP is engaging with younger members of our society to learn about their views on politics and on life, and in the lead-up to the budget, it was especially interesting to hear students’ views on the Chancellor and what steps they would want to see the government take to support their futures. 

SHOPLIFTING:

Last Friday, I spoke with the owner of Presents, a local store in East Sheen, regarding the rise of shoplifting in London and the UK.

The owner reported that his stores have lost out on thousands of pounds worth of goods due to shoplifting, and the process to retrieve these items has been painstakingly slow due to the backlog of our Courts system, meaning the items had to be held in evidence until a charge could be made.

The Chancellor did not mention the impact of shoplifting on our local businesses once in her speech, but I will continue to call on the government to take this issue seriously.

MORTLAKE SANTA’S GROTTO:

Last Saturday, I visited the Mortlake Community Centre for their Christmas Fair and Santa’s Grotto event. 

It was excellent to join-in the festivities as we approach December, and I would like to thank the team at the community centre for the invite and for making me feel welcome as usual.

COMMUNITY NEWS:

ADVERTISEMENT FOR CHRISTMAS EVENTS:

If there are any local businesses or charities who are holding events in the lead-up to Christmas, please do reach out to my office by emailing ‘office@saraholney.com,’ with a brief description of the event, as I would be more than happy to promote this in the community news section of my newsletter.

MORTLAKE STATION HUB OF HOPE LAUNCH:

South Western Railway, Network Rail and Richmond Council unveiled signage at Mortlake Station on Wednesday, termed ‘hub of hope.’

These signs provide contact details of mental health services and encourage those struggling to reach out. 

Mortlake has been the site of a number of suicides over the past years, and if the signs encourage just one person to reach out, they will have been a success.