Council Tax Rises, Local Meetings and a Tribute to Pauline Deegan
Report back from Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick
Andy Slaughter with newly qualified government lawyers at the Supreme Court
October 19, 2026
Last week Parliament returned after conference recess, and it was a busy week with my first appearance at the Despatch Box answering questions as Solicitor General on behalf of the Government at Attorney General’s Questions. The questions covered fraud, whistleblowers and jury trials. This slot was right before Prime Minister’s Questions and so there wasn’t time to get to rural crime, pro bono work by lawyers and joint enterprise, but those questions I have sent written answers to. Attorney General’s Questions is a 30-minute slot roughly once a month where the Attorney General and I can be asked anything about our duties by MPs from all parties. You can read all my contributions in parliament here.
In my role as Solicitor General, I recently gave a speech to the newly qualified government lawyers at the Supreme Court. It was a real pleasure to meet with those who have trained as barristers or solicitors with the specific purpose of going into government departments or the Government Legal Department. I wish them all the very best as they undertake their new roles.
The newest MP in Westminster, Sagal Abdi-Wali arrived last week after her by-election win in Holborn and St Pancras on the 8 th of October. Labour MPs welcomed Sagal to Parliament, I am sure she will be a brilliant champion for her constituency.
Last week I also attended the launch of a new report on how we make sure public inquiries like Grenfell and the Contaminated Blood Inquiry implement recommendations. The Prime Minster welcomed this approach in a reply to Kensington and Bayswater MP Joe Powell, who has Grenfell in his constituency, at PMQs on Wednesday. The police have now handed their evidence on Grenfell to the CPS who expect to make charging decisions before the 10 th anniversary of the fire next summer.
Residents will soon receive, if they have not already, letters from LBHF about the government's changes to council funding and what that means for those living in Hammersmith and Fulham. I am working closely with the Leader, finance lead at LBHF and other H&F MPs to lobby the Government on the effects of its new formula for distributing grants to local authorities. This will see a shift to poorer areas of the country which has major implications for council tax levels in London, including Hammersmith & Fulham. You can read more from the Council on this here.
I recently spoke at the Avonmore public meeting where a big topic of the conversation was the impact of Olympia on the area, and I also attended the traffic calming meeting in Wendell Park. Both meetings were organised by ward councillors for the areas, and I am grateful to them and the council for working with residents to solve traffic and transport problems.
I was delighted to speak to politics students at West London Free School during recess, it is always great to have the opportunity to speak with young people about our political system and my role as an MP as well as hearing their thoughts and ideas.
Last week I went along to the Hammersmith Society AGM, where the architectural awards were presented and the champion of the driverless pods for Hammersmith Bridge gave an excellent presentation. You can find out more about the Hammersmith Society here.
Tribute to Pauline Deegan
Recently, I was very sad to hear of the death of Pauline Deegan, treasurer of the Wood Lane Estate Tenant and Resident Association. The Wood Lane Estate was Pauline’s home for 47 years. Throughout that time, she did lots for her local community, from starting an after-school-club in the 1980’s for children growing up on the estate, to working as a lunchtime supervisor at St Stephen’s Church of England School in Shepherd's Bush, where all five of her children had been pupils.
She worked for her local community for nearly 40 years but unfortunately had to stop when she became unwell in 2025, aged 75. To many, Pauline was someone they could trust – a familiar and caring presence at the school, community centre or around the estate. She gave so much of her life to looking after others, and she will be deeply missed.
Her funeral took place at Our Lady of Fatima Church on the 1st of October, with a large attendance of family, friends and members of the wider community. Surrounded by so many people whose lives she had been part of Pauline was remembered with love and gratitude.
Best wishes,
Andy
andy@andyslaughter.com
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