Siobhain McDonagh MP

About Siobhain

Siobhain’s diary

Mitcham and Morden

Speeches

Parliamentary questions

My Life in Mitcham, Morden and Colliers Wood

I was born on 20th February 1960 to Irish parents living in the constituency I’m now representing in Parliament, Mitcham and Morden. I’m proud to be a lifelong resident of the constituency, with over 25 years of community activism in the area.

After attending schools in Tooting and New Malden I studied politics at Essex University, and then went out to work, first as a Clerical Officer at the DHSS in Balham and then as a benefit adviser for the Homeless Families Unit of Wandsworth Council. I later worked as a development manager for Battersea Churches Housing Trust and became active in the field of welfare advice.

In 1982 I became the youngest councillor in London when I was elected to Merton Council in Colliers Wood ward, where I live.

When Labour regained control of Merton Council in 1990 I became Chair of the Housing Committee and set about having the tower blocks in Phipps Bridge demolished and replaced with proper homes and gardens. Over 1,000 homes were built in the space of 4 years, and substandard windows in thousands of units were replaced over the same period.

It was during my time as Merton’s Chair of Housing that we did the first work in housing on “designing out” crime, which led to the blocking off of alleys and the provision of entry phones on the Abbey Orchard Estate.

These were some of my other contributions as a local councillor:

I led a campaign to establish a respite care centre, Brightwell, for children with learning difficulties;
I helped to develop Merton’s very first sheltered housing schemes at Glebelands and Trellis Court;
As a school governor, I helped to keep Liberty Middle School open, now one of the most popular schools in Merton;
I helped to create MESH (Merton Elderly Safe Homes) to give money to local pensioners to improve the security of their homes;
I helped to introduce MASCOT, a pendant alarm scheme to protect elderly people from bogus and threatening callers on their doorsteps. This was Later extended to people who suffered from domestic or racial violence or harassment;
As Chair of Housing I encouraged greater efficiency in the collection of rents, arrears and efficient use of housing stock amongst local authorities across London, which encouraged authorities, whatever their politics were — to be enablers, providing land at affordable prices to social housing organisations, allowing new homes to be built for families in need;
I actively campaigned for new bus routes, such as the 152 in Pollards Hill.

As a parliamentary candidate, I stood and lost in Mitcham and Morden in the 1987 and 1992 general elections (I’m no overnight success!), before eventually winning in 1997.

My campaigns in parliament since 1997 have included changing the law to allow former catholic priests to stand as MPs (which enabled Colliers Wood resident David Cairns to become Labour MP for his home constituency, Greenock and Inverclyde).

I’ve lobbied for the introduction of digital hearing aids on the NHS for all deaf people who need them. Along with other concerned MPs, I've kept up a vigorous campaign to secure government action on "quality of life" issues - graffiti, abandoned cars, vandalism and other anti-social behaviour.

I’m now campaigning to get the Wilson Hospital in Mitcham reopened as a hospital (it is currently offices) to serve the people of Mitcham, as its founder intended.

These are some of the other things I have been doing on behalf of the people of Mitcham and Morden since I became an MP in 1997:

I forced London Electricity to back down on their demand to charge elderly Mitcham Garden Village residents £60,000 to install a new sub-station;
I pushed London Transport to take action on poor bus performance and modernise Colliers Wood Tube station (at a cost of £10 million);
I lobbied the government successfully for money from the New Deal to improve Merton’s schools;
I set up a regular series of “roving surgeries” and tea and coffee mornings throughout Mitcham, Morden and Colliers Wood attracting thousands of constituents, each of whom I try to meet individually;
I hold regular meetings with local Police to monitor crime reduction;
I’m a frequent visitor to local schools, youth groups, nurseries and under-8s clubs;
Elvis McDonagh fails to impress judges, or his owner, as a finalist in the 2001 Parliamentary Dog of the Year Competiton

I’ve hosted two highly successful business breakfasts for local Merton businesses to meet and question senior government ministers, as well as receptions at the House of Commons to honour the work of local groups such as GPs, charities, school governors, foster carers, and most recently the volunteers who run the Mitcham and Morden Little Leagues.

In 2000, I was appointed to the House of Commons Health Select Committee, which monitors the Government’s reform and modernisation of the NHS, as well as other health issues affecting the people of this country.

In my spare time I enjoy taking my West Highland Terrier, Elvis, for walks on Mitcham Common, as well as cooking and listening to music, especially Radio One. A highlight of my time in Parliament was hosting the first ever reception for Radio 1, at which Zoe Ball, John Peel and (my favourites) Mark and Lard, spoke about the excellent public service record of Radio One, as well as its unique contribution to promoting young British musicians.

I share a house with my sister Margaret in Colliers Wood, close to the house of our parents, a retired nurse and retired builder, who came to live in Colliers Wood nearly fifty years ago. Margaret, my sister, was the first woman to be general secretary of the Labour Party, as well as being arguably the most successful general secretary in the party’s history, overseeing Labour’s two historic landslide victories.

“I see myself as the servant of Mitcham and Morden, and the majority of the work that I do as its Member of Parliament is devoted to helping the people who come to see me or write to me. I make no apology for concentrating on local issues.”

Siobhain McDonagh MP,
in a speech to the
House of Commons,
23 October 2001