There is something fundamentally wrong with the way we are approaching the future of our communities.

When the money is tight, the easiest answer is to take from one place and give to another. Slice the pie a little thinner here, a little thinner there, and tell ourselves that we have made the system fairer.

But if the pie is not growing, all we have done is create new losers.

That is the problem I see with the Government’s Fair Funding Review.

Kensington and Chelsea is facing the removal of more than £100 million from its budgets over four years — more than 40 per cent of the Council’s controllable budget. The Council is warning that the consequences will ultimately be felt through difficult choices about services and council tax. (Kensington and Chelsea Consultation Hub⁠ )

This is not an abstract argument about spreadsheets and funding formulas.

It is about the people who use our services.

It is about an elderly resident who needs care, a family facing homelessness, a disabled child who needs support, a street that needs maintaining, a community facility that keeps people connected.

And it is about the thousands of people who contribute enormously to the economy and the Exchequer but are increasingly being told that the place they live should simply accept less.

The Government argues that its reforms are about directing funding towards areas of greater assessed need. That is a legitimate objective. But fairness cannot simply mean taking from one community to give to another.

Fairness should also mean creating more.

This is where I believe we are missing the bigger opportunity.

Why are we constantly debating how to divide a fixed pot when we should be asking how we make the pot bigger?

Why are we taking from Peter to pay Paul rather than asking how we can help Paul develop his talents, find better opportunities and contribute more?

That is how sustainable communities are built.

We should be looking at growth, enterprise, investment, skills, employment, housing, regeneration and the enormous economic contribution made by London. We should be asking how every community can become more productive and more prosperous — not simply which community should receive a larger slice of a shrinking share.

London is not a problem to be solved by reducing its contribution.

London is one of the country’s greatest economic assets.

And yet London Councils is now warning of a cumulative £5.2 billion funding shortfall for London’s boroughs between now and 2030, with an estimated £1.2 billion gap in this financial year alone. (London Councils⁠ )

That should concern all of us, wherever we live.

Because when councils are forced to make increasingly difficult choices, the impact does not remain neatly inside a council boundary. It affects local economies, jobs, businesses, housing, social care and the quality of the places in which people live.

Where are our MPs?

This is also where I think we need a much more honest conversation about political representation.

Kensington and Bayswater and Chelsea and Fulham have elected MPs who have a responsibility not only to their party but to the communities they represent.

I do not expect every MP to agree with their council.

I do expect them to speak plainly when decisions made by their own Government have consequences for their constituents.

There is a difference between being loyal to a political party and being accountable to the people who elected you.

Our communities deserve MPs who will ask difficult questions, challenge decisions when necessary and make the case for their constituents — even when that is uncomfortable.

Silence is not representation.

Nor is quietly accepting a policy because challenging it may be politically inconvenient.

We need a bigger ambition

I am not arguing that every pound of public money should remain exactly where it is today.

Nor am I arguing that councils should never be expected to reform, find efficiencies or do things differently. Local government must always scrutinise how it spends taxpayers’ money. We have a responsibility to do so.

But there is a difference between reforming a system and simply redistributing scarcity.

If the answer to every difficult financial question is to take money from one community and move it to another, eventually everybody is fighting over a smaller piece of the same pie.

That is not an economic strategy.

It is a redistribution strategy.

We should be much more ambitious.

Grow the economy.

Create opportunities.

Unlock investment.

Help people into work.

Support businesses to expand.

Build the homes and infrastructure that allow communities to thrive.

And give local government the freedom and resources to innovate rather than continually forcing councils into a cycle of cuts, savings and crisis management.

Because communities are not numbers on a funding formula.

They are people, businesses, families, neighbourhoods and aspirations.

And if we really believe in building a fairer country, then surely the ambition should be to create more opportunity for everyone — not simply to decide who gets the smaller piece.

There are moments in life that catch you completely by surprise.

For me, it has been this summer.

Almost every day, I find myself stopping to watch a bee. Or smiling as a butterfly drifts across my path. They seem to be everywhere. Around flower beds, parks, gardens, roadside planting and even the smallest patches of greenery.

Perhaps they have always been there.

Or perhaps there really are more of them.

Either way, they fill me with an unexpected sense of joy.

Seven years ago, if someone had told me that I would become so excited by the sight of a bee, I would probably have laughed.

Yet here I am.

Back in 2019, I had a simple idea. Could we make our borough friendlier for pollinators? Could we connect our green spaces so bees and butterflies could move more easily through an urban environment?

That idea became the RBKC Bee Superhighway.

It officially launched in 2021, but ideas do not become reality overnight. They need people who believe in them. They need patience. They need care. Above all, they need others who are willing to make them better.

Looking around this summer, I cannot help wondering whether what I am seeing is part of that story.

Not because one project can solve everything.

Not because one person can claim the credit.

But because hundreds of small actions, taken consistently over several years, really can make a difference.

Nature teaches us that.

Nothing happens instantly.

A flower blooms in its own time.

A tree grows one ring at a time.

A seed disappears underground long before anyone sees the first green shoot.

Perhaps ideas are much the same.

Politics often encourages us to think in short cycles. We want quick results, immediate headlines and instant success.

Nature doesn’t work like that.

The Bee Superhighway has reminded me that some of the most worthwhile things take years before you can truly appreciate them.

This summer, I think I am beginning to see those years reflected in the buzzing of bees and the gentle flutter of butterflies.

Whether they are there because of the Bee Superhighway or whether I simply notice them more now almost doesn’t matter.

What matters is that our borough feels richer, greener and more alive.

That is something worth celebrating.

Besides my family, helping to bring the Bee Superhighway to life remains one of the things of which I am most proud.

As I grow older, I find myself thinking more about legacy. Life isn’t measured only by what we achieve. It is also measured by what we leave behind.

Not because it is mine.

But because it belongs to all of us.

Every flowering verge.

Every pollinator-friendly planter.

Every resident who chose flowers instead of paving.

Every council officer who helped turn an idea into reality.

Every child who now grows up thinking that bees belong in our borough.

Sometimes, in public life, you never get to see the results of the seeds you plant.

Sometimes…

If you’re very lucky…

You do.

And there is no better reward than watching life return.

This week, we received some truly special news: the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Kensington and Chelsea’s adult social care services as “outstanding” — the highest possible rating, and the best in Britain.

This is more than just a badge of honour. It’s a recognition of the care, professionalism, and compassion shown every day by our dedicated teams, our partner organisations, and the community that works alongside us.

The CQC singled out our leadership, our commitment to safeguarding vulnerable residents, and our ability to provide services that are both inclusive and deeply personal. They also acknowledged how we’ve learned from the Grenfell tragedy — ensuring that every decision we make is rooted in listening, building trust, and protecting those who rely on us most.

This achievement sits alongside our “outstanding” Ofsted rating for children’s services. Together, they show that even in the face of funding pressures, we are determined to deliver the highest quality support for residents at every stage of life.

I want to thank everyone who made this possible — our staff, volunteers, care providers, community groups, and of course the residents who help shape our services. This recognition belongs to all of you.

We’re proud of what we’ve achieved, but we’re not standing still. Our focus remains on listening, improving, and making sure every resident receives the dignity, respect, and care they deserve.

I don’t usually get fired up about council funding formulas. But what’s being proposed right now for Kensington and Chelsea is outrageous—and it deserves everyone’s attention.

The Government is planning to cut more than £80 million from our borough’s funding over the next three years. That’s around 40% of our controllable budget. Let that sink in.

This isn’t about tightening belts or trimming fat. This is a deep, calculated cut that would gut local services—not because we’ve failed to manage our finances, but because we’ve done exactly the opposite. We’re being punished for running things well.

The Flawed Logic Behind the Cuts

Here’s the trick they’re trying to pull: the new “Fair Funding” formula assumes a notional Council Tax Band D rate of £2,000. Ours is actually £1,079—one of the lowest in the country. And that’s something our Conservative council is rightly proud of. We’ve kept taxes low, services efficient, and targeted support where it’s needed most.

But instead of being recognised for that, the formula assumes we should have been charging residents double and uses that fictional figure to justify slashing our funding. You couldn’t make it up.

The Reality on the Ground

Kensington and Chelsea isn’t just a place on a map—it’s home to real people, including many who live in real deprivation. That gets missed in the headlines. The new formula redistributes money away from areas like ours while ignoring local pressures—like sky-high housing costs, a huge daytime population, and the fact that we act as a gateway to London, with all the services and infrastructure that entails.

Street cleaning, waste collection, social care, housing support—these aren’t luxuries. They’re essentials. And under these proposals, they’re all at risk.

Backing the Right Fight

Cllr Elizabeth Campbell, our Conservative Council Leader, is absolutely right to fight this. She’s been meeting ministers, pushing back in the media, and calling this out for what it is: selective de-funding. I stand with her on this.
This isn’t about party politics. It’s about basic fairness. When a well-run council gets hammered for doing the right thing, we should all be concerned.

What You Can Do

The Government is running a consultation on these changes—but the deadline is coming fast: 15 August 2025. If you care about the future of services in our borough, now is the time to speak up.

• Submit your view here: The Fair Funding Review 2.0
• Share this message. Talk to your neighbours. Write to your MP. Let’s make it clear: this is not acceptable.

We’ve worked hard to build a borough that works—for everyone. We’re not about to sit quietly while that’s torn down.

Today is World Bee Day. So I decided to celebrate by buying a jar of local honey and remind everybody of the importance of bees and pollinators.

For me, it all began about 7/8 years ago, on a beautiful sunny day. I was in the countryside, sitting outside surrounded by and soaking in England’s natural beauty. It was perfect, bar one thing. For almost an hour in the garden not one butterfly appeared. Even though I am not in the countryside a lot, I recalled a setting such as this will have a couple of them flying around. I spent the rest of my stay actively looking for them while outside and from inside, yet nothing. That got me thinking.

When I got home, I did a little research on why we’re not seeing butterflies like we used to? It turned out not only butterflies, but all of our pollinators are at risk and suffering from rapid decline. Because their natural habitats are being destroyed either for urbanisation or due to climate damage. These creatures mostly exist and fertilise by resting, eating and flying from flower to flower.

The loss of biodiversity was creating longer gaps between trips thus making pollinator journeys longer. Not all bugs were able to survive it. That’s when the idea of a Superhighway of connecting corridors to allow pollinators a continued and safe travel came to me.

So why Bee?

Because, in my opinion bees are the royalty of bugs and pollinators. Plus ‘The Bee Superhighway’ is catchy and has a nice ring to it.

Four years later I was elected Councillor for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. That’s when I thought now I can really do something about it. I had the platform, an audience and the resources. All I needed was the setting. Which came about the flowing year when I became Deputy Mayor in May 2019. I am very proud to say, with the backing of the then Mayor Cllr Will Pascal, I hosted an event that launched The Bee Superhighway putting it firmly on the borough’s map.

Yes, it was my idea, my vision and dream, but so many people are behind it’s success and existence. I, and the pollinators are very grateful for all of them. I am not going to mention names, because I will undoubtedly miss someone, but you all know who you are.

Today, on this World Bee Day, I and the Bees thank, appreciate and celebrate you all!

Happy World Bee Day!

Last year at the council (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) we spent nine months reviewing our governance. One of the outcomes was to change the way we do scrutiny. The public wanted to have greater involvement in scrutiny, and the findings to be more policy making than just recommendations. We listened and the result was a total revamp of scrutiny committees. We now have an overarching Overview Scrutiny Committee, that oversees all scrutiny and directs the work of the four select committees below it. Thus giving the process greater focus while allowing for more specialisation and more in-depth examination. The four committees are, Adult Social Care and Health; Environment; Family Services; and Housing and Communities.

I decide to put myself forward to chairing the Family Services Committee. See below my address to fellow councillors:

I am writing to ask for your support in my decision to chair the Family Services Council Select Committee. Last year I served in the Adult Health & Social Care Scrutiny Committee, besides that experience, I bring personal and lived experiences to this role.

As a mother, a sister and a daughter, family is very important to me. It is the umbrella under which we rear and empower our young, and support and care for our old. As Conservatives, we understand that family is the foundation of every community and the bedrock of every society. By nurturing all our families, whatever shape or size, we enrich our communities and strengthen our futures.

Safeguarding of vulnerable children and support for families will sit at the heart of my chairmanship’s work as it is among the council’s most important statutory responsibilities. We have excellent schools. Both my daughters used local authority schools: first St Mary Abbott’s, and then Holland Park. They also used after school clubs and summer programme activities. It was the only way I could afford to work full time and raise them as a single parent. I was so impressed with our youth services provision, I became a trustee and campaigned alongside residents to save a failing local youth project from closure then helped to turn it around into a successful programme. Keeping the youth safe and occupied by providing them with after school activities is a lifeline for many parents. And, although I never adopted or fostered children, I came across some who did, many found the process good but some felt it needed improvements. If elected; I promise to closely scrutinise the process, in order to promote greater kindness and efficiency.

In my first year as a councillor, I shadowed Gerard (Cllr Hargreaves) and got to know and understand many aspects of the diverse communities in our borough. During that time, I understood good chairing and how to bring out the best in people – by giving a voice to those too quiet to hear or a little shy to speak. This experience, plus part chairing a number of meetings throughout the year, has allowed me to understand and appreciate effective chairing, collaborative working and respect to members’ valuable time and contributions.

As a member of the Governance Review Panel, I listened to and spoke with hundreds of residents: and it is because I know our constituents want to see scrutiny groups active and out in their communities that I am so determined to take on this role. At this Council, we want scrutiny to be more resident – facing, more geared towards policy development and less Town Hall centric. Those priorities directly respond to what residents told us they want from scrutiny. And to bring that dynamic scrutiny vision to life, we need people who believe in it.

Besides bringing life and personal experience into the fold, I can empathise and effortlessly relate to others’ experiences. That coupled with my calm and measured reasoning, will make me a suitable chair for this committee. I want to empower residents to be consistently engaged, trust the council more and not be afraid to come forward with new and untried ideas. I also want meetings to become extra efficient and run to time. Additionally, I want to engage members of the committee further by enabling them to have more say and bigger involvement in working groups. I want them to feel that their opinion and the issues they value are valued.

We are very lucky in this borough, as we have good public services and some of the best schools in the country. But the best is only as good as our commitment to excellence. And excellence can only be achieved with robust scrutiny.

Thank you for your time.

Walaa

This May, I am celebrating my first year as an RBKC (the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea) councillor. The saying “time flies when you’re having fun” is very true. The past twelve months went by in a flash. I was very lucky to have a number of varied positions. I sat on the Planning Applications Committee, Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Committee, the Governance Review Panel and was deputy to the Communities & Culture lead member. I judged competitions, chaired a number of meetings, visited community hubs, sat on neighbourhood safety briefings and even accompanied Madam Mayor on a few events. For an afternoon, I was a book in the Human Library and spoke in the Council Chambers on Brexit, saving the No 11 & 19 Buses (which we saved), Housing, Policing, Transport and gave my maiden speech. I also responded to hundreds of emails and addressed a number of residents’ issues in the ward and borough wide.

It was truly a memorable year. One where I learnt a lot about myself and others. I met some fantastic people in the Town Hall, my ward and the borough. I made new friends, and strengthens old relationships. At times I was more tired than I ever imagined I could be, but it was all so exhilarating I didn’t mind it much. Luckily, a few weeks after I got elected, I was advised by a former councillor to 1) pace myself and not over do things, and 2) carve out some down time to recharge. I did both and they helped me to stay relaxed while being productive. I highly recommend doing both.

My second year started with a bang. A few weeks ago, I was asked by our incoming Mayor, Cllr Will Pascall, to become his deputy. This was one of the roles I dreamt about holding one day, and in all honesty expected to, but one day in the very far future not on my second year. So, as you can imagine, I was over the moon with joy and proudly accepted. I will continue sitting in Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Committee, and as Vice Chair in the Planning Committee. I will also sit in the Executive and Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee. So, more to do and much more to learn.

All of this won’t have been easy if it wasn’t for the love and encouragement I get from my beautiful daughters. Thank you for always being there, for your unconditional love and unquestioning support. I shall use all you give me to make RBKC a little better by the end of my sophomore year.

It’s been almost a year since my last blogpost. No, I did not give up blogging all together, but took a break to focus on getting selected and elected Councillor in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

For those who don’t know yet. I was selected to stand in my home ward Brompton and Hans Town and proud to say in May 2018 I was elected Councillor. I have since, spent the past months settling in my new role and getting to know and understand my duties and the people around me who help me do them.

To date I have attended a number of committee and scrutiny meetings and three full council meetings. Last night I gave my maiden speech, below is the full text.

Good evening!

Thank you, Madam Mayor

I am honoured and delighted to stand before you as an elected Conservative councillor of this outstanding borough. And, especially as a representative of my own ward the beautiful and vibrant Brompton and Hans Town.

But before I get carried away. I would like to pay tribute to my former councillors and dear friends Tim Coleridge and Nick Paget-Brown. Who between them served this borough for 64 years. And, on behalf of the ward’s residents thank them for their long service and selfless dedication to public life.

Nick & Tim had many wonderful achievements Borough wide. More recently was turning Exhibition Road into a landmark and making it more accessible for disabled and elderly visitors to the museums.

Madam Mayor, 27 years ago, with a toddler and six months pregnant, I immigrated to the UK from the Sudan. London and RBKC became our home. But unfortunately, in 2002 we became homeless. After 3 years of moving from one temporary accommodation to another, we qualified for permanent housing south the borough, in the then Hans Town Ward.

Our 2-bedroom flat, with its charming balcony overlooking beautifully kept gardens was built in 1947 for war veterans and their families. Wiltshire Close is a warm and diverse community in the heart of Chelsea.
That is why, as a council tenant, I am excited by Cllr. Taylor- Smith’s commitment to build a variety of social housing. I am also delighted the government will lift the cap on how much councils can borrow to build new homes. Both are excellent news.

Madam Mayor, I entered politics to help those who need helping. After years of flirting with the idea of becoming a Member of Parliament I realised I will better serve my community and give back to my adopted home by becoming a councillor. By achieving small significant changes to improve people’s lives, I will attain more and help better. It took me a few years to get here but it was worth the wait. Because now, I represent my home ward and my neighbors.
Brompton and Hans Town with it’s pretty streets, historic buildings, boutiques, shops, restaurants and many international attractions, is also home to over 5500 residents and hundreds of fashionable and international businesses.

This beauty and vibrancy come with its own challenges. Millions yearly visiting the museums, high end retailers and establishments, puts enormous pressures on residents’ lives, council services and the community. But, it is also what makes this ward so desirable to live and work in.

As a resident, I know too well these challenges and face them daily myself. From roaring supercars, to the chronic begging outside Harrods or amplified busking around Exhibition Road and South Ken station. Plus let’s not forget the latest craze of motorcycle crimes. All these are issues I aim to work hard to reduce if not totally eradicate in my tenure.

As a K&C councillor, my duty extends to the whole borough. And as such I intend to passionately serve every corner of it. In the past few months, I saw clearly the pain felt by some in north the borough. My goal is to soothe that pain. I know it’s an ambitious goal, some might even say it’s a dream.

But Madam Mayor, I am a dreamer, who dreamt of studying in the US and I did. Dreamt of making London our home and I did. Dreamt of becoming a K&C councillor and I am. My dream now, is to play my part in easing that pain, and I will.

Thank You!