Following the fire at the waste centre on Weir Road, I have written to the Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, as well as the Chief Executives of Merton and Wandsworth Councils to voice the concerns of local residents who were affected.

​This letter can be found below:

Today, my team has been out in the area affected by the recycling plant fire, knocking on doors and speaking to local residents. We have also been to visit the site of the fire and met with the Fire Brigade Commander who is leading at the scene. 

Further, our team has met with Council Officers who have been proactively taking measurements of the air quality at local schools and on streets affected by smoke. 

Remember, keep your doors and windows closed. I would advise staying indoors.

Local people will be aware that the fire at the Recycling plant on Weir Road is continuing to produce high volumes of smoke in the area. I have spoken to London Fire Brigade who has assured me that the fire remains in control and efforts are continuing to dampen out the remnants of the fire.

​I know many people will be concerned with the effects of the smoke on the air quality in the surrounding area. I am proactively engaging with Wandsworth Council to ensure steps are being taken to monitor the air quality.

I understand that current advice is to keep doors and windows closed.

I understand that a fire broke out at the Recycling Plant on Weir Road, just inside Merton yesterday evening. The Fire Brigade states that the fire is now under control, but efforts are now being taken to begin dampening out the fire. 

Rest assured, I will continue to maintain contact with the Fire Brigade and monitor any developments closely. 

Data from National Rail and the Rail Delivery Group has revealed a shocking rise in the number of late trains at Balham, Earlsfield, Tooting and Wandsworth Common stations.

Trains in the morning evening peaks, to and from Central London, have all seen a worsening of their "on-time percentage" in the last six months compared to the same period of 2023. The full breakdown of delays at each station is below.

It is shocking to see that, not only are trains late at some stations late half the time, but that there has been a steady decline from an already-unacceptable level of lateness last year. Particularly concerning are the figures at Tooting station, where over half of services were late despite there being only two services per hour on that line.

Some of the worst performing services include:
8:05 from Balham (8:07 from Wandsworth Common) to Victoria - 88% late (Southern)
18:12 from Waterloo to Earlsfield - 81% late (South Western)
8:21 from Balham to Victoria - 79% late (Southern)
8:40 from Balham (8:42 from Wandsworth Common) to Victoria - 76% late (Southern)
8:13 from Tooting to London Blackfriars - 70% late (Thameslink)

Local commuters deserve better than the shoddy service they are currently receiving from Southern, South Western and Thameslink. I look forward to the Government's plans to bring our local rail services back into public control, so that our trains are always run with the interests of the people who use them at heart.

We did it! I want to give a massive thank you to everyone who went out and voted yesterday. 

I am so proud to have been re-elected with an increased ​19,487 majority. 

​Wishing everyone a very Happy Pride today!

While we celebrate the progress over the years, we must remember that there is still much work to be done to end hatred and discrimination against the LGBT+ community, at home and across the world.