Andrew Slaughter

All three town centres in my constituency have been causing controversy this month. The biggest fuss - appropriately - is over Shepherd's Bush where the giant Westfield shopping centre is due to open in November.

Last Sunday I spoke at the opening ceremony of the Acton Mosque. Anyone who has passed through Acton High Street in the past year will have seen the dome and minaret under construction.

Almost everyone who came to my surgery this week began the conversation by saying "terrible news about Ken" or some such similar lament for Mr Livingstone's demise.

Ealing Centre for Independent Living (ECIL) is a local charity with national ambitions. Under the dynamic leadership of Sian Vasey, it provides both a voice and a wide range of services for disabled people living in the borough.

MANY local communities in Ealing and Acton are in shock at the news that their local post office is to close.

LAST Sunday was Holocaust Memorial Day. January 27 is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, and was chosen as the most symbolic day to remember the worst crimes against humanity in our recent history.

ACTON, I was once told, holds the record for the number of stations with the same place name - and once you begin to add them up it rings true: whether on the mainline, north London line, Piccadilly or Central, there are indeed many variations.

THE long-awaited consultation on the third runway and other plans for Heathrow expansion came out this week.

Gordon Brown's first Queen's Speech as Prime Minister set out a substantial and in some cases controversial programme of 28 Bills and draft Bills for the next Parliamentary year. I am particularly pleased that there are measures on the improvement of public services and on social policy that will directly benefit many people in this borough.

WITH election fever in the air, it is easy to dwell on domestic politics and forget what is happening in the world beyond.