Out Campaigning and Attending Some Brilliant Local Events

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Report back from Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick

Andy Slaughter, Rupa Huq MP and Ben Coleman MP at the launch of Sagal Abdi-Wali's campaign

September 20, 2026

After a busy couple of weeks back, last week Parliament sat on Monday and Tuesday but is now in recess again for conference season. Labour Party Conference will take place from 27th-30th September.

In my role as Solicitor General, the week before last, I travelled to Belfast with the Attorney General for the opening of the legal year and to be sworn in to the Bar of Northern Ireland. It was brilliant to speak with our counterparts in Belfast about ways we can strengthen our justice system.

Later in the week, I paid a visit to the Serious Fraud Office to meet with the Director and SFO staff and hear about some of the cases they are investigating and their current priorities. As Solicitor General, I hold responsibility of superintending the Serious Fraud Office and I look forward to working together to focus on tackling serious economic crime.

There is going to be a by-election in the Holborn and St Pancras constituency after former Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, stood down as an MP at the start of this month. Last weekend, along with fellow west London MPs Ben Coleman and Rupa Huq, I was delighted to head out knocking on doors for brilliant Labour candidate and leader of Camden Council, Sagal Abdi-Wali following the launch of her campaign.

On Thursday I was very pleased to make it along to the Hammersmith and Fulham Business Awards, held in the new Civic Campus. The awards provide an opportunity for local businesses to raise their profile and gain recognition for their success. It was great to catch up with Mayor of H&F Sharon Holder and Aniza Meghani who runs Classic Textiles in Goldhawk Road, a mainstay of its famous fabric district for decades.

Andy Slaughter with Mayor of H&F Sharon Holder and Aniza Meghani at the H&F business awards

I was also delighted to attend the Brackenbury Residents Association AGM. It was great to get the chance to speak with residents and hear what the BRA has been up to over the past year.

The Askew Arts Festival has now begun with some brilliant events. The festival is running from 17 th-25 th of September and is a hyper-local arts festival which aims to connect the community. The theme this year is ‘If children are our future…’ and the curators have put together a series of events that help to answer this challenge. You can find out more about events that are on during the festival here.

Andy Slaughter at the launch of the Askew Arts Festival

It was great to be at the launch of the festival at Sulgrave Youth Club with organisers Jonathan Mercer, Kate Fishenden and Caroline Needham. There was an excellent exhibition of work by local youth groups celebrating recycling.

There are also exciting things coming up at the Grove Neighbourhood Centre. The Grove Community Choir begins on Monday 21st September at 17:15. The Affordable Art Sale is on Tuesday 29th September from 17:00-21:00. It is a great fundraiser for the centre and there will be lots of artworks to see. You can find out more about what’s on at the centre here.

Finally, congratulations to Shepherds Bush Cricket Club, who recently won the ECB National Club Championship with a five-wicket victory over New Farnley at Wormsley.

Best wishes,

Andy

andy@andyslaughter.com

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