Paul's MP September Newsletter: Thames Water, the District Line and The Fight for Met Police Funding
Following a brief (albeit, far too hot) summer break, I’ve had a busy September, with the return of Parliament from summer recess, Lib Dem 2026 conference in Brighton, and plenty of ongoing events across Wimbledon, New Malden, Raynes Park and Morden.
Given the range of activities I’ve been up to in the past few weeks, I thought you might like to read about some of the highlights.
My trip to Brighton for Lib Dem Party Conference -
I had a busy 4 days down in Brighton for Lib Dem Conference 2026, where I spoke on motions, chaired panels, and met with various organisations and charities. I’ve done a longer write up which you can find on my Linkedin here.
In the community:
Celebrated our latest transport win, but the District Line still needs fixing -
First, the good news: Wimbledon, along with all the stations along our branch of the District Line, finally has working annunciators. At last, we now have digital boards that tell us what platform the train is leaving from and when. I have been pushing for this in meetings with TfL, Network Rail and SWR since I was elected, when I began using the District Line into Westminster and realised how wrong they invariably were.
The bad news is that the Wimbledon to East Putney branch of the District Line is still causing issues despite some £500,000 of work undertaken this summer to improve reliability and fault finding . Our branch continues to rely on signalling from the 1980s which, due to complications from the track being shared between the London Underground and SWR makes any upgrade exceedingly expensive. The Department for Transport and TfL have not provided any timeframe for upgrades and there is still no real clarity about the extent of the works needed. I have consequently written to the Secretary of State asking for an accurate estimate of costs, rather than the vague references to 100s of millions of pounds I have been quoted thus far. I am grateful to the ‘FixTheDistrict’ group for keeping this issue in the public eye andattended their protest outside of Wimbledon Station, to show my support, last month. I will continue to push the Government on committing to a plan for Wimbledon and I will share updates in due course.
Held Thames Water accountable for disruption to local residents -
On the morning of 28 September, many of my constituents from Wimbledon to New Malden woke up with reduced water pressure or no water at all. This was due to a mains pipe burst in West Molesey leaking 750l of water every second in the early hours of the morning.
On the same day, an unrelated pipe burst then occurred on Kingston Road next to South Wimbledon station, closing the road to Westbound traffic.
These past two events have caused considerable disruption to local residents and are a telling indictment of the perilous state of water infrastructure in London and across much of the UK. I’ve been in contact with Thames Water to ensure they do all they can to minimise the current disruption and to understand as to how they intend to improve matters for the future.
Thames Water, and other privatised water companies across the country, have put profiteering before service and failed to invest in their industry. That is why I’ve been calling them out on social media, and why my party is urging the Government to put Thames Water into Special Administration so we can begin to address the years of mismanagement.
Attended the 9th Korean Ambassador’s Taekwondo Championship -
I thoroughly enjoyed the 9th Korean Ambassador’s Taekwondo Championship held in New Malden. It was inspiring to see our communities come together to celebrate Korean culture and witness the skills on display.
I even got the opportunity to test my own Taekwondo skills (click here to see!), although I clearly have much to learn.
Thank you to H.E Korean Ambassador Kim Heung-Jong and everyone involved.
In Parliament:
Raised concerns about Met Police funding & community policing -
I had the opportunity to question the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, during a session of the Home Affairs Select Committee. During this, I raised the concerns of Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes, who described the ‘sustained pressure’ the Met is under after a real-terms funding cut of a third since 2015 resulting in 3,300 job losses already and a further 1,000 to come
I won my legal challenge to stop the Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan closing Wimbledon Police Station back in 2018 when he tried to sell the building. Whilst that has ensured we retain a police base within the constituency he recently closed our public front counter after promising not to do so when he was elected two years ago. I know, from personal experience, what it means for local communities to have visible and active neighbourhood policing. It is not just about stopping crime; it’s the reassurance of regularly seeing your local police officers, having a chat, and knowing their name that gives communities confidence.
That is why I’m seeking to meet with the Minister for Policing and Crime to discuss what can be done to ensure the Met is properly funded to keep Londoners safe. In October, I am also due to meet Mark Rowley, the Met Police Commissioner, where I will also discuss these concerns.
Getting young people involved in Politics -
It is important to inspire the next generation to get involved in politics.
Local schools regularly visit Parliament and I endeavour to pop by to have a chat when my diary allows. It was lovely to meet with students from Wimbledon High School recently. who, after a tour around the Houses of Parliament, had the opportunity to put me through a tough Q&A. If your local school would like to visit Parliament, an educational visit can be arranged by contacting the organisers here.
My office also runs regular work placements for local pupils although numbers are necessarily limited. To apply to join a forthcoming session please contact my office: paul.kohler.mp@parliament.uk
Keeping up to date with my work:
If you would like to follow my work in Parliament more closely, you can view all my contributions here.
You can also stay up to date via my website and/or my social media: X, Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram.
Thank you for reading my monthly newsletter. I will continue to keep fighting for your values on the national stage and pressing to achieve practical changes that benefit my constituents, with particular emphasis on my five local priorities; enhancing community policing, strengthening local health provision, building a strong economy, protecting our environment and fixing our broken politics.
Please do get in touch via paul.kohler.mp@parliament.uk if there are any issues you’d like me to pursue on your behalf.
