Christmas Events, Legal Reform and Welcome News in the Budget
Report back from Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick
Andy Slaughter MP
November 28, 2025
It has been a busy week in Parliament with the Autumn Budget, this week is also UK Parliament week, an annual event that provides an opportunity for schools, youth groups, and community organisations to learn more about Parliament and the work it does.
This year, I am visiting schools across the constituency as well as hosting visits to Parliament. Last week, pupils from Heathfield House School visited and I had Q&A sessions with two year groups.
On Monday, I visited West London College to speak to over 100 of their students, including many asylum seekers and refugees studying English. Friday was particularly busy with visits to Wendell Park Primary, St Paul's CE Primary and Greenside School to speak to the Hammersmith Cubs and Scouts.
On Thursday, I was in Chiswick High Road for the turning on of the Chiswick Christmas lights. It's now the season for carol concerts, outdoor festive markets and all the other events leading up to Christmas.
I met the Chief Executive of Guinness Trust – nothing to do with drinking but one of the country’s biggest social landlords which has just expanded in west London by taking over Shepherds Bush Housing. Social landlords are more important than ever at providing affordable homes, but not all treat their tenants well and I like to meet the main players once or twice a year to raise resident concerns.
AgeUK in H&F are holding their annual Carol Concert on Wednesday 10 December at 7pm at Holy Trinity Church, Brook Green. It promises to be a warm and festive evening. It’s also an important fundraiser for their work supporting older residents, so do consider coming along.
The wonderful Barons Court Project is raising funds to convert the loft of their Day Centre in Hammersmith, creating space for an art studio that can also be used for their wellbeing classes. It will also allow for an expansion of their laundry facilities for rough sleepers. If you can, please consider donating to help them expand the work they do to support homeless people in the Borough.
The Justice Committee, which I chair, has been focusing on the state of the UK's court system, and what can be done to speed up justice and ensure access for all.
Earlier this month, the committee had the opportunity to question Sir Brian Leveson on his proposals to limit jury trials to help reduce the growing backlog in the Crown Courts. While the need to speed up justice is undeniable, these proposals raise serious questions about fairness and public confidence in the system.
We are expecting a statement from the government very shortly responding to Sir Brian, particularly after a draft of that response was leaked to the BBC. I raised this in the Commons on Thursday.
This week it was the turn of the Lady Chief Justice to appear before the Committee, to discuss her work and the state of the court system. She spoke about the lack of resources meaning many trials remain delayed and the backlog keeps rising. This backlog, now at a record high of nearly 80,000 open Crown Court cases, is not just an abstract number, it means victims can wait years before their cases ever come before a court.
Following the Committee's inquiries into rehabilitation and drug use in prisons we have now launched a new inquiry into legal aid and access to justice, aiming to ensure that everyone, regardless of means, can secure fair representation.
By the time we reached this week’s Budget, it felt like everyone knew as much as the Chancellor about what would be in it. That meant few surprises: some measures that will bring real relief, and some that I know will be of concern.
On the plus side, several announcements stand out. The two-child benefit cap has been abolished, a move that, alongside other measures like free breakfast clubs, school meals and childcare will take 560,000 children out of poverty, including over 1700 in Hammersmith and Chiswick. The National Living Wage goes up to £12.71 an hour and the minimum wage for 18- to 20-year-olds to £10.85 an hour. The state pension will increase by 4.8% in April. Prescription charges and rail fares are frozen – for the first time in 30 years in the case of train fares. Energy bills will be cut by an average of £150 from next year and poorer families will receive an extra £150 through the Warm Homes Discount.
Some gloomy predictions proved to be untrue: income tax will not rise though personal allowances will be frozen beyond the 2028 date set by the previous government. There was much speculation about new property taxes or a wholesale revaluation of council tax that would have hit London hard. I, along with Ben Coleman and other west London MPs, lobbied hard on this issue, including raising it directly with the Prime Minister, arguing that residents who bought property decades ago and may now be living on a modest retirement income would struggle to afford an extra levy.
The additional charge will be lower than predicted and only affect properties worth over £2 million, and is currently slated to come into effect in 2028. The annual surcharge will follow a tiered structure, with the most expensive properties paying more. This will be based on 2026 valuations provided by the Valuations Office.
A consultation will be launched next year on potential reliefs and exemptions that could be put in place for those who may struggle to pay.
In the commons, I spoke about the Government’s new rules on recycling, a scheme I support but which penalises businesses – like our own Fuller’s brewery and pubs – which use heavy items like glass and cans rather than plastics. With other brewing MPs I suggested ways the scheme could be fairer and more environmentally friendly.
From my inbox and talking to people on the doorstep, I know that there is an understanding of the need to invest more in public services and a welcome for measures that reverse the increase in child poverty. Adequate funding for the NHS, education and indeed the justice system are not luxuries but part of a properly functioning society. But equally people want to be sure that any money raised from taxation will be well spent. That is the task for the Government going forward.
Two other issues have been filling my mailbox this week. Constituents are concerned about the Government’s proposals for speeding up decisions on migration and want them to do more to stop the killing in Palestine.
The new proposals on immigration and asylum contain welcome steps forward, but also some proposals that have a lot of my constituents understandably worried.
One of the biggest problems with the current system is the length of time people spend waiting for a decision. Some families are left in limbo for years, unable to build a stable life or contribute fully. Quicker decisions will mean that those who qualify for refugee status can begin rebuilding their lives sooner, and those who do not can be removed without being stuck in limbo. This alone could save billions currently spent on hotel accommodation, while giving refugees the certainty they need to start working, supporting themselves and contributing to the country.
There are some troubling elements about those trying to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) being forced to wait up to 10 years. I know that many feel this change is unfair given that it will impact those who had been following the rules as they currently stand and had hoped to be granted ILR on this basis. However, allowing people who work, pay tax and learn English to earn citizenship sooner is a sensible reform.
The focus on expanding safe routes is also essential. Without legal pathways, desperate people will continue to risk their lives in the Channel. Creating safe, properly managed alternatives is the only effective way to stop dangerous crossings and undermine the criminal gangs who profit from them.
I'm also concerned that changes to the tribunal system do not interfere with the legal rights of asylum seekers and as Chair of the Justice Select Committee I have written to the Home Secretary with a number of questions.
While lots of international attention has rightfully been on Gaza because of the ongoing famine and continued attacks on civilians, there is increasing concern about situation in the West Bank in response to the unrestrained settler violence and de facto annexation of significant parts of the state of Palestine.
I have added my name to a joint letter, along with more than 80 of my parliamentary colleagues, which calls on the UK Government to act in response to the escalating violence and forced dispossession faced by the Palestinian community of Umm al-Khair in Masafer Yatta, and other similarly threatened communities in the occupied West Bank, which I have previously visited.
The letter highlights alarming reports: families at risk of mass demolitions, homes built with UK-backed humanitarian aid under threat, repeated attacks by settlers, and a pattern of systemic dispossession that bears the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing.
As parliamentarians, we are urging the Government to use every available diplomatic, economic and legal instrument including sanctions against those responsible, halting trade linked to illegal settlements, and coordinating with international partners to defend the rights of Palestinian communities and uphold international law.
Best wishes,
Andy
andy@andyslaughter.com
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