Members of the public and community volunteers in Sidcup were treated to a surprise visit from the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday morning.
The Prime Minister joined Old Bexley and Sidcup MP Louie French on a special visit to meet and thank community volunteers at both Lark in the Park and Sidcup’s Community Garden.
At Lark in the Park, which has now been running each Summer at Sidcup Place for 27 years, the Prime Minister and Louie met event organisers Paul and Paula Weston, who took them on a tour of the free family activities and introduced them to dozens of community volunteers from churches in Sidcup, Hope Community School and Blackfen Community Library. They also met many local families and Sidcup’s Police Team, who surprised the Prime Minister by arranging for Margaret Thatcher’s old 1970s Rover Car to be on display for the public whilst providing vital crime prevention advice.
The Prime Minister and Louie then made the short walk to Sidcup’s Community Garden, which was recently awarded a prestigious Green Flag, to meet the green fingered volunteers, including local volunteer and Councillor Mrs June Slaughter. The Prime Minister rolled up his sleeves and joined volunteers Rob and Shirley for some gardening and weeding before meeting more members of the public and representatives from the Sidcup business community, Holy Trinity Church Lamorbey and St. John’s Church Sidcup, who were all thanked for their ongoing efforts to support the local community and Ukraine.
Commenting Louie French said:
It was a great honour to welcome the Prime Minister to Sidcup at the weekend and I am really pleased that hundreds of local people and volunteers were able to meet him on this surprise visit.
We are blessed to have so many amazing community volunteers in Old Bexley, Sidcup and Welling, and I always do my best to support them and champion our community on the national stage as the first homegrown MP for our area. Last week this included visits to local sports clubs in Bexley, Spark in the Park at Danson and Lark in the Park in Sidcup, which is brilliantly organised by Paula, Paul and the team of volunteers every year.
I also took this opportunity to highlight local anger and concerns over the Mayor of London’s undemocratic ULEZ expansion and I am pleased that the Prime Minister has announced a formal review of all anti-motorist policies across the country, as the Government works to help families with the cost of living.
The Prime Minister has now enjoyed visits to both Sidcup and Welling in recent times and I look forward to welcoming more special visitors as we work to secure further investment in our community, including at Queen Mary’s Hospital.
