Thousands of Children Face Food Poverty in Kingston – Kingston Labour Selects Motion for Annual Conference

15th September 2023 In the week that has seen all Primary school children benefit from free school meals thanks to the Mayor of London, Kingston and Surbiton Labour has selected a motion calling for universal free school meals to send to the party’s annual conference. Free school meals for all…

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Closure of Malden Centre Crèche as running costs spiral

27th April 2023  Community leisure facilities are an important provision for local people to access affordable health and wellbeing activities. With the cost of living crisis, and with the high costs of childcare, there are limited options for people with young children to access these vital services. The closure of…

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“The best leisure centre in London is coming to Kingston in 2024” – A Lib Dem Cllr election promise

31st March 2023 Yesterday’s council meeting saw the submission of a residents petition about the Kingfisher. Considering the detailed timeline previously given, residents are seeking a commitment to a new pool and a feasible timescale of when that can be expected. Labour’s Anna Gorrell asked how much money had been…

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Kingfisher Swimming Pool Plan Cancelled.

8th March 2023 We all saw this coming… but even so the inevitable Kingston Liberal Democrats’ climb down from the proposal to build a replacement for the Kingfisher leisure centre by 2024 is a huge blow to the borough and its residents. And so, on a quiet Wednesday morning, the…

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Residents living in sewage in Surbiton retirement complex

1st March 2023  A resident in a local retirement housing complex, based in Surbiton and run by Kingston Council, had to live with sewage blocking and spilling out from her toilet for several months. The resident was finally moved, but the problem first reported in July has yet to be…

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Standing with migrants and refugees. Our motion to Labour’s London Region Conference.

26th January 2023  With recent reports of children being kidnapped from home office run hotels, (the existence of these hotels in our own borough) the Tories are waging an escalating war on migrants’ rights and dignity: an intensifying Hostile Environment: The disregard of Windrush victims; the neglect of Ukrainians and…

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Remembering Neil Calvert – Labour Councillor for Norbiton

19th January 2023 We are saddened to share the news of the passing of Neil Calvert, who diligently and compassionately served the borough as a Labour Councillor, for 12 years, in Norbiton. Donations can be made in his memory to the Trussell Trust here. Words by Phillip  Cooper Neil Calvert,…

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Surbtion Labour stops sale of ‘Killer’ Drinks and calls for action on anti-social behaviour on the Highstreet.

16th November 2022 The Surbiton Labour Branch attended the Kingston Council Licensing Sub Committee to comment on an application for an Off-licence on Victoria Road. We are also calling on the Council to make Surbiton high street a controlled drinking zone. At the meeting we raised concerns on the impact…

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Campaigners continue the fight to save Kingston pub and live music venue

15th November 2022 Where there’s a pub, there’s a community. Where there’s a community, there is support and wellbeing. They form a vital part of our social infrastructure, and support our local economy, providing local jobs for local people. “The Cricketers wasn’t just a pub, but one of the few…

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Labour talk to Thames Water about sewage discharges in Kingston and Epsom and Ewell

09/11/2022 At the end of September we met with senior managers from Thames Water at their Hogsmill Sewage Treatment Works in Berrylands, to discuss the pollution discharges in the Hogsmill and Green Lanes Streams. We were given a tour of the sewage treatment works by Thames Water managers, who told…

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Vote Nick Draper, Labour’s candidate for Green Lane and St James!

23rd October 2022  Our Labour candidate for the by-election is Nick Draper. He is an experienced former Councillor with 24 years under his belt in neighbouring Merton. He has a solid track record of supporting and helping residents. Nick says “In my time I’ve built a library and a leisure…

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Kingston Winter Crisis support: Labour’s Community café

17th October 2022  At the start of October we opened up our meeting space as warm place to come and spend time with others in the community. The ‘Cosy Café’ provides free tea, coffee and treats, toys, activities, and information to help residents through this difficult winter. This should not…

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Our living standards are under attack – Why we need to get behind the strikes:

21st August 2022  Kingston Labour have shown support to the bus drivers and railway staff this week by visiting local picket lines to speak with the workers. We are facing the biggest attack on living standards in living memory, yet profits have never higher, and we’ve never had so many…

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Kingston’s Mess of a Memorial – a public health and safety risk

16th August 2022 Don’t be fooled by the Lib Dem claims to support local heritage. Despite planning a summer of activity in the Memorial Gardens, little has been done to clean up the mess. Now people are expected to reflect, and children are expected to play, amongst pigeon feathers and…

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Seething Wells: Under Destruction

2nd August 2022  Portsmouth Road residents face 5 days of disruption as the road is closed to facilitate an electrical connection to the Seething Wells Filter Beds. An electrical cabinet has been installed by Bed 7 (the only remaining bed with water) to facilitate a suspected pump to drain the…

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Is Kingston’s riverside for sale to the highest bidder?

22 July 2022 The Council have posted a planning application for the costly GoBoat hire company, including a 57 m pontoon. Cllr John Sweeney’s handling of the Riverside and preference for a big business from outside the borough as opposed to a small local business suggests that he believes that…

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Fury at Lib Dem broken promise over CRE Community Hall

5th July 2022 Anger is building from local residents over the way the Council are reneging on their promise to build a temporary community facility for the 3 years before the new community hall is built. As part of the regeneration of the Cambridge Road Estate, Piper Hall, the current…

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Thames Water: Stop dumping sewage in Hogsmill River & Green Lanes Stream

29th June 2022 Kingston Labour and Epsom and Ewell Labour are calling on Thames Water need to stop dumping raw sewage in Hogsmill River & Green Lanes Stream. We have written a joint letter to Thames Water and both Councils calling for action to be taken. The pollution affects Epsom,…

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The Village Surgery in New Malden is closing! Keep it for Primary Care Services.

28th June 2022  A few weeks ago we raised our concerns over the possibility of complete closure of the Village Surgery, when the practice had its registration removed by the CQC and was taken over temporarily by the Groves practice. We are deeply disappointed to now hear of the closure…

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Profits Before Passengers – The rail workers strike for their jobs and us all.

22nd June 2022 RMT represent a large number of rail workers who’s jobs are currently at risk. The Tory Government, after slashing £4bn of funding from National Rail and Transport for London, has actively prevented a settlement to this dispute. Train companies paid shareholders almost £800,000,000 last year. Now they…

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Kingston Council Make Play Fair!

Kingston Council need do to better, and make play fair! Every child has an equal right to play, yet many disabled children cannot enjoy their local playgrounds. Many of Kingston’s playgrounds were not designed with disabled children in mind. There a few local examples of accessible roundabouts and swings, but…

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