John Oswell – The Best Candidate for Charville

On Thursday 27^th November the electorate in Charville Ward will go to the polls to elect a Councillor and representative for their area on Hillingdon Council. In this very closely contested seat, which Labour won from the Conservatives in May 2014 by a narrow margin, Labour has chosen to put forward John Oswell as our candidate.  John is a very experienced Labour member and former Councillor who has served his community well for many years.

John will join a strong team of Labour Councillors who are already active and working hard representing the interests of its voters in Hillingdon. We have been fighting effectively on issues that matter to the voter, such as housing, school places, facilities for young people and parks and open spaces.  The Conservatives have not yet fulfilled their promise to restore the Charville Golden Bridge, which we are committed to pursue. We are fighting to ensure that expansion of schools is appropriate to the needs of the Hillingdon community, and that disabled people have appropriate access to public transport. We are also actively involved in representing the community’s need for appropriate waste recycling resources in the borough, without any negative impact on the local community. We have been putting pressure on the Conservative Council regarding the closure of the South Ruislip Waste Recycling site (and previously Rigby Lane in Hayes) which has forced those in the south of the borough to travel to Harefield with their recycling. On the other hand, we have also represented local communities on the West London Waste Management Examination to ensure that the Old Coal Depot in West Drayton is not inappropriately burdened with extra waste management capacity that would overburden an already congested traffic system and worsen the quality of the already heavily polluted air. Lack of resources has resulted in increased Anti-Social Behaviour for residents in Charville. Labour is committed to pursuing all avenues to additional funding which would result in keeping our residents safe and our communities secure.

Possibly the biggest issue that concerns us, however, is the provision of appropriate affordable housing for the many families in the borough who find themselves out in the cold as a the result of poor quality housing, ruthless landlords, and the ineffectual policies of both local and national Conservatives. Our Councillors know from experience within their wards, that some children have lived in 12 different properties before their 8^th birthday, which has adversely affected their health and education.

There are many initiatives to boost the housing supply in the borough, but we need more affordable housing. Much of the new housing being built in the Hayes area is simply not affordable for people from Hayes. Similarly, policies aimed at enticing private landlords to accept homeless families have failed because the rents being demanded are simply too high. Without affordable housing the Council’s waiting list for housing will continue to grow and more and more families will be shunted about between unsuitable and poor quality temporary housing whilst they wait.

The Labour Group at Hillingdon is committed to representing the local people, and the issues that are of concern to them, and we have chosen a highly regarded candidate in John Oswell to fight this important seat in Charville. We hope to welcome him to a strong and committed team at Hillingdon.

Cllr Mo Khursheed
Leader of The Labour Group
London Borough of Hillingdon