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 receptionist 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 the introduction of digital hearing aids on the NHS for all deaf people who need them; making it easier to be an organ donor and thereby increasing the number of kidney and other transplants; and expanding the armed services’ Cadet Forces into local schools, to give more opportunities for young people to take up activities in the evening and at weekends.
| 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.
Since 1997 I have campaigned for the improvement of local health services, including the reopening of the Wilson Hospital in Mitcham; preventing the closure of St Helier Hospital and securing its refurbishment; and working with local doctors to set up the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre, which was opened in 2001 by the Queen and is now the largest hip and knee replacement centre in Europe.
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 include:
- 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 worked with local residents to campaign successfully for the opening of a new train station at Eastfields in Mitcham, which is now providing services to Victoria, London Bridge, St Pancras and beyond;
- I pushed London Transport to take action on poor bus performance and modernise Colliers Wood Tube station (at a cost of £10 million). I have also campaigned for more and better bus services, most recently to expand the service provided by the 463 in Pollards Hill and Streatham Vale;
- I lobbied the government successfully for money to improve Merton’s school buildings, and successfully fought for the opening of two new City Academies, Harris Academy Merton and St Mark’s Church of England Academy;
- I worked for the introduction of 10 Safer Neighbourhood Police Teams, each consisting of a Sergeant, 2 PCs and 3 Police Community Service Officers – and later succeeded in increasing the hours covered by the teams, concentrating on evenings and weekends. I also helped get a Safer Neighbourhood Team dedicated to tackling problems on public transport. I am now arguing for local police offices in the heart of our community, in places like Wilson Avenue in Mitcham, and Green Lane in Morden.
Apart from my weekly advice surgeries, which are every Friday afternoon at the Civic Centre, I try to keep in touch with residents by:
- holding regular Saturday tea and coffee mornings throughout Mitcham, Morden and Colliers Wood, often bringing the police and other officials together to meet with local residents;
- hosting “getting on the housing ladder” information days to advise people about low-cost home ownership schemes and how to buy their first home;
- organising advice mornings specifically for senior citizens, where they can get expert advice on local activities, benefits, the NHS and social services;
- hosting two business breakfasts where local businesses could meet and question senior government ministers
- organising annual children’s days at the House of Commons, together with evening receptions for young people and educational tours for school groups;
- holding regular receptions at the House of Commons to honour the work of groups such as GPs, charities churches, Residents Associations, School Governors, foster carers and the volunteers who run the Little League.
In 2005, I was privileged to be appointed as Parliamentary aide to John Reid, in his capacity as Secretary of State for Defence and later Home Secretary. In 2007, I was appointed as a Government Whip, with particular responsibility for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which gave me the great honour of helping to steer the world’s first Government Bill to cut emissions and tackle climate change.
In my spare time I like to meet up with friends, shop and listen to all kinds of music.
I share a house with my sister Margaret, who was the first woman ever to be General Secretary of the Labour Party, and is now a member of the House of Lords. We live in Colliers Wood, close to the house where we were brought up and where our mum, a retired nurse, still lives.
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