Farewell Sir Keir and Welcome Andy Burnham
Report back from Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick
Andy Burnham is welcomed by the Parliamentary Labour Party
June 27, 2026
Most people will be aware of the tragic fire on the White City Estate on Saturday 20 th of June that resulted in the loss of three lives. I know that the three people who died in the fire were known to many on the estate and it has been a very distressing week for the community. I visited the scene the morning after and attended the public meeting on Wednesday. Many questions remain as to the cause of the fire, why people died, and what the history and future of the building is. Please be assured that I have been liaising daily with the council, police and fire service regarding these issues. The investigation continues and the police have asked for anyone with any information to come forward.
Last Monday saw the resignation of Keir Starmer as Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party. Andy Burnham, who recently won the Makerfield byelection, looks likely to replace him as the only candidate so far to declare they will enter the race.
I feel very personally sorry for Keir Starmer who is a decent and honourable man, who tried his best to rescue the country from economic and social disintegration, and who had to contend with unprecedented challenges especially in international affairs.
He has many achievements to his credit, but a lot of those challenges remain, so, now he has resigned, in the interests of the country we need to move quickly to replace Keir. Andy Burnham proved during the Makerfield campaign that he could win the confidence of the electorate and he looks the best candidate to lead the Party and the Government.
As we always do when a new MP is elected, the Parliamentary Labour Party gathered in Westminster Hall for a photo to welcome Andy Burnham to Parliament as he arrived last Monday to take his seat.
It has been very busy in the constituency over the last couple of weeks. There were celebrations for the beginning of Refugee Week on Brook Green, where I met up with West London Welcome and the refugee team from LBHF who were taking part in the event. Refugee Week comprised of many other events and is an important opportunity for the community to celebrate the contributions of refugees in our communities.
I attended a brilliant concert at Sacred Heart School recently to raise money for the restoration of the one of the UK’s rarest organs that was discovered at the school.
The Organ at Sacred Heart School
Last week I was delighted to be able to make it to the opening of the Irish Heritage Walking Trail. There are 18 plaques on the trail, and you can see the map here. The trail really captures the number and variety of links between Hammersmith and the Irish community, from Enda O’Brien and WB Yeats to Wimpey’s recruitment office for building the flyover and where Michael Collins lived.
The unveiling of the Irish Heritage Walking Trail
Lush held a drop-in event in Parliament recently as part of their campaign against animal testing. I met with campaigners who explained the need for funding for a more modern approach to science that does not use animals as test subjects.
In the House of Commons, I raised the need for implementing the recommendations from the public inquiry into contaminated blood, and the growing support for a national oversight mechanism to monitor and intervene when progress is not being made.
As Chair of the Justice Select Committee, I made a statement in the chamber on Thursday about the report the committee has published on the Courts and Tribunals Bill. The bill has been controversial as it limits the right to jury trial for certain cases and there has been some scepticism about how effective the measures would be in reducing the courts backlog. We do need to reform our criminal justice system, and I commend the Government for commissioning the Leveson review, but I hope they will also give serious consideration the recommendations within the JSC report.
In justice news I met with the Family Mediation Council at its parliamentary event a couple of weeks ago. The event focussed on the importance of family mediation for family law problems, which is often a kinder, quicker and cheaper way to find a resolution. I also hosted the annual justice reception, organised by The Law Society and the Bar Council, and we were joined by Secretary of State for Justice, David Lammy.
Last week I met with the prisons minister to discuss IPP prisoners, after having met with IPP prisoners recently at Wormwood Scrubs and hearing about their experiences. I also met the Independent Public Advocate to discuss the help we give to victims of disasters from terrorism to train crashes.
The committee has had two of its weekly evidence sessions, the first with Prisons Minister, Lord Timpson. We questioned him on the progress to solve the prison crisis after two years in the job. The second evidence session was with the Attorney General who we quizzed on everything from international law in the Middle East to why he has banned X from his department.
Best wishes,
Andy
andy@andyslaughter.com
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |