Cheapest, smallest house on the best side of one of London’s most sought after streets, The Boltons, comes up for sale; the tardis like building was home to novelist-politician Jeffrey Archer and his scientist wife Mary in the 1970s
No. 24a The Boltons is one of the smallest houses on “the fourth most expensive street in Britain,” but it is still anything but insubstantial at 3,123 square feet.
The tardis-like Victorian townhouse is wedged between two mansions and was converted from a coach house for Aston Martin racing team driver Noël Cunningham-Reid in 1960.
Novelist-politician Lord Archer and his scientist wife Dame Mary owned the property between 1972 and 1976.
The couple were forced to sell the house after Jeffrey Archer supposedly “lost over £400,000 in a bad investment” in the summer of 1974.
Jeffrey Archer subsequently made a fortune as a novelist and then after a glittering career in politics, was jailed in 2001 for perjury and perverting the course of justice.
The house was sold again subsequently for £3.8 million in 2007 and is now for sale for £6.5 million; the average price of houses on the street is £32.5 million according to Zoopla.
Other residents of The Boltons have variously included Arab royals, Madonna and Sir William Gilbert, one half of Gilbert and Sullivan.
In May 2017, we featured 6 The Boltons after its asking price was slashed from £39.5 million to ‘just’ £30 million, whilst in April 2015, a more modern house at the upper end of the street named One Boltons Place sold for £51 million on an asking price of £55 million. More recently in January 2018, when 22 The Boltons was sold to a British family for £40 million that sale was described as “one of the biggest deals in the last 12 months… a notable one.” Its asking price had been an even more punchy £57.5 million.
The Boltons was developed in the 19th century by the architect George Godwin (1813 – 1888) on 11.5 acres of land previously used as market gardens. The oval shaped street consists of 13 Italianate style houses on the “favoured” western crescent and 15 more in addition on the “less sought after” eastern side. In the centre, there is a communal garden and the church of St Mary The Boltons and whilst many residents employ private security, a number of the mansions are locked up, unloved and unoccupied also.
Now, an opportunity has arisen for someone to not “buy the worst house on the best street,” but instead “buy the cheapest house on the best side of the best street” in the form of what initially appears as a narrow townhouse wedged between two very much larger semi-detached villas. No. 24a The Boltons is actually deceptive as it not only widens as it goes backwards, but also provides a very surprising 3,123 square foot of usable accommodation over four floors.
The entrance hall opens into a library area and a feeling of space is provided by a glass enclosure around the upward staircase.The drawing room space beyond has a vast window looking out westwards onto the gardens of the houses of The Little Boltons beyond.The lower ground floor dining kitchen is surprisingly bright and has a double height ceiling in part.
Laid out currently to give 3 reception rooms, 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, the “highly unusual house with off-street parking” includes a 50-foot long interconnecting entrance hall, library and reception space on the ground floor. At the rear, that opens to a partially double height dining kitchen below measuring 36-feet in length.
No. 24a was home to Jeffrey and Mary Archer in the 1970s and the street features in the spectacularly successful novelist’s 2008 bestselling work A Prisoner of Birth and his 2015 ‘Clifton Chronicles’ series novel Mightier than the Sword. It was whilst living here that the couple’s two sons were born and they supposedly only sold what Dame Mary later described to a court in 2001 as their “lovely” home after “hugely incautious” investments almost bankrupted them. “We’ve explored the further reaches of ‘for better and for worse’ than most couples,” the solar power conversion expert subsequently added.
Agents Knight Frank seek £6.5 million or £2,081 per square foot for 24a The Boltons and whomever buys it will certainly be able to laud that they live in one of the best addresses in London without it being a work of fiction. In Hyacinth Bucket-esque fashion, however, they won’t, of course, bring up that they actually live in the cheapest and smallest house there.
The Names & Numbers – 24a The Boltons, London, SW10 9SU, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, United Kingdom
July 2020 – For sale for an asking price of £6.5 million ($8.2 million, €7.3 million or درهم30 million) through estate agents Knight Frank, a figure 71.1% higher than the 2007 sale price.
March 2007 – Sold for £3.8 million ($4.9 million, €4.2 million or درهم17.6 million).
1972 to 1976 – Home to Lord Archer and Dame Mary Archer DBE, then known as Mr Jeffrey and Dr Mary Archer. Their sons, James and William, were born during this period in 1972 and 1974.
Other Notable Residents of The Boltons
Between 1999 and 2006, Madonna owned a house in The Boltons and other well-known residents have included Sir Julian and Dame Paddy Ridsdale.
8 The Boltons – Douglas Fairbanks Jr. KBE (1909 – 2000), actor, lived there in the 1950s with his wife Mary Lee Hartford, former wife Huntington Hartford, the A&P supermarket heir.
14 The Boltons – Otho Stuart (1863 – 1930), Shakespearean actor-manager, lived there, exact dates unknown.
19 The Boltons – The Rt. Hon. Anthony Crosland (1918 – 1977), Labour Party politician, author and one-time lover of Roy Jenkins, lived there, exact dates unknown.
20 The Boltons (also known as ‘The Grove’) – Colin MacInnes (1914 – 1976), author, lived there, exact dates unknown. For a time in the 20th century, the building also served as Our Lady’s Convent along with 21 The Boltons.
24 The Boltons – Sir William Gilbert (1836 – 1911), playwright and one half of Gilbert and Sullivan, lived in the house between 1877 and 1884 and wrote six of his best known comic operas there beginning with The Sorcerer in 1877, HMS Pinafore in 1878, The Pirates of Penzance in 1879, Patience in 1881, Iolanthe in 1882 and Princess Ida in 1884. Gilbert moved from No. 24 The Boltons in 1884 to a newly built house nearby at No. 39 Harrington Gardens.
29 The Boltons – Used as an infant school for fifteen years after the Second World War.
The kitchen itself is dominated by a central island unit.A lower ground floor room described as a “snug” is used presently as a space to watch television.The first floor consists of a master bedroom suite with a bedroom with an undemised balcony, a dressing room and a shower room.The dressing room itself.One of two bedrooms on the second floor.The other second floor bedroom.There are two bathrooms and two shower rooms in the house.The floor plan shows how the tardis like building gets bigger as you go further back into it.The situation of 24a The Boltons is on the “favoured” western crescent of this ritzy street.
Matthew Steeples reports on ‘Mad Friday’s’ arrival in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
Vomit on the pavement and kids pissed on the streets: A standard night in Newcastle on ‘Mad Friday’ but this year this horrific occurrence hit the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea with vengeance and with equal aplomb to whatever damage it does elsewhere.
On taking a stroll through Chelsea and Knightsbridge at around 9pm, I witnessed 14-year old drunks taking half-naked selfies in Cadogan Square and someone a little older vomiting in Milner Street. In Sloane Street itself, supercars roared and raced one another and outside The Botanist, instead of the Sloane Rangers of old, were individuals resembling Wayne and Waynetta Slob looking like they were about to pass out.
Welcome to modern Britain: Thanks ever so much Theresa Trump.
Both Labour and the Tories get it very wrong in Kensington and disgrace themselves with their truly offensive conduct
On Monday, the political blog Guido Fawkes exposed the new Member of Parliament for Kensington, Emma Dent Coad, as having viciously called a black Tory candidate named Shaun Bailey as a “token ghetto boy,” “gobby and dangerous,” a “free-loading scumbag” and “the most hated man in North Kensington” back in 2010 in a post on her blog.
Elsewhere, on Twitter, various users shared a survey circulated by Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham Conservatives that disgustingly asked residents of the Courtfield Ward to rate the importance of the Grenfell Tower tragedy on a scale of one-to-ten in terms of its importance.
One is only left asking: What on earth is wrong with these moronic people? Have they not an ounce of sense?
Follow The Steeple Times on Twitter at @SteepleTimes.
Emma Dent Coad MP likes to blog and tweet yet blocked her now constituent Matthew Steeples on Twitter after he asked her about the hidden homeless problem in South Kensington prior to her election; she claimed to be “too busy” to answer him
The disgraceful survey put out by Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham Conservatives
As Kensington turns red, ‘The Steeple Times’ reflects on the defeat of a woman nicknamed ‘#LazyBorwick’ , a win by a hard-left Labour blogger and a need for an MP who’ll now represent all constituents
Last night, in frankly the biggest shock of a shambolic and wholly unnecessary General Election, Kensington replaced one flame haired harridan with another and a Conservative majority of nearly 7,500 votes with a wafer thin Labour majority of just 20.
That a seat, where someone once commented: “Even a pig in a blue rosette would win here”, turned red shocked many but given the apparent laziness of the incumbent Member of Parliament, Lady Borwick, the result was a reflection of the constituency’s dissatisfaction with a woman whose reply rate to constituents was listed as just 18% on the website TheyWorkForYou.com.
Victor Emma Dent Coad represents something that many in the seat will not, however, want. Hard-left, and a Momentum supporter, this blogger undoubtedly can be credited as a dedicated councillor but her tangible lack of anger towards Brexit will come to disappoint the 69% of constituent supporters of ‘Remain’.
After the result was announced, Dent Coad, who was backed to the chagrin of a number of locals by Gina Miller’s ‘Best for Britain’ campaign, told those assembled:
“This constituency is a microcosm of everything that is wrong in this country after seven years of incompetent and uncaring coalition and Tory government”.
“I will do everything in my power in the next five years to make ‘One Kensington’ an example of the finest qualities of common humanity, mutual respect for all our communities and social justice to create a thoughtful, kind, co-operative and tolerant society where we can all prosper and thrive”.
Ousted Lady Borwick spoke briefly and added: “I wish Emma every success, but please be assured, as far as I am concerned, tomorrow I start the fight back for Kensington and the Conservatives”.
On Twitter, actor and local resident John Cleese responded: “Metro, The Mirror and the Evening Standard are blaming me for helping Labour’s chances in Kensington and Chelsea [sic]. Delighted my trick worked…”
Elsewhere, in response to an article published in April in The Steeple Times, a reader and associate of Lady Borwick going only by the name “Daniel M.’ remarked:
“You stupid, stupid people. You have destroyed Victoria Borwick’s majority and you should realise the impact that will have on the area. We do not suit Labour representing us and as someone who has worked with Victoria and knows her well I will tell you this: Shame on you Matthew Steeples. I am disgusted by your vendetta and demand you apologise”.
Ignoring this bitter Tory’s diatribe, Matthew Steeples concluded:
“Annabel Mullin deserves a worthy mention for having increased the Liberal Democrats’ share of votes cast from just 6.6% to 12.2% in spite of having no party structure behind her. Unlike machined up to the hilt Borwick and Dent Coad, she campaigned throughout the electoral area and now, as before, we have a constituency divided between the richer Tory south and the poorer Labour north”.
“Kensington might be perceived as the land of supercars and £120 million houses, but in fact, this is an area with a rife problem of homelessness and an area where people ‘buy-to-leave’ rather than to ‘buy-to-let’ let alone ‘buy-to-live’. Independent, locals businesses are being wiped out here and nowhere is it clearer that ‘money park London’ just cannot be allowed to continue unabated”.
“Emma Dent Coad, undoubtedly, secured an amazing win but it now remains to be seen whether she’ll represent ‘the many’ throughout Kensington or just ‘the cleverly focused few’ she so successfully targeted to secure her victory last night”.
Results (with percentage change from 2015 General Election):
Electorate – 60,594
Turnout – 38,677 (63.8%)
Majority – 20 for Labour (previously 7,361 for the Conservatives)
Emma Dent Coad, Labour Party– 16,333 (+11.1%)
Lady Borwick, Conservative Party – 16,313 (-10.1%)
Annabel Mullin, Liberal Democrats – 4,724 (+6.6%)
Jennifer Nadel, Green Party – 767 (-3.1%)
James Torrance, Independent – 393 (+1%)
Peter Marshall, Independent – 98 (+0.3%)
John Lloyd, Alliance for Green Socialism – 49 (-0.2%)
Pictured above: Ex-MP Lady Borwick with Theresa May; Emma Dent Coad after her victory on Friday
Matthew Steeples asks Conservative candidate for Kensington Lady Borwick five questions; he put the same to the Liberal Democrats Annabel Mullin also whilst Labour’s Emma Dent Coad failed to respond
In the final hours of the 2017 General Election campaign, I asked the Conservative candidate for Kensington, Lady Borwick, five questions I considered relevant to voters in one of Britain’s most wealthy constituencies. I publish below her answers in full and unedited form and beneath also include the responses of the Liberal Democrat candidate, Annabel Mullin, to the same questions.
Emma Dent Coad, Labour’s candidate, was also given the opportunity to answer but failed to respond to several requests.
The five questions to Lady Borwick (initially and then more generally to Annabel Mullin and Emma Dent Coad) were:
Hidden homeless: “What will you do to help the ‘hidden homeless’ of Kensington?”
Money park Kensington: “How will you help local businesses counter such decline if re-elected?”
Brexit: “How, going forward, will you credibly represent the 48% who voted to ‘remain’, as someone who went on the phones to support ‘leave’?”
Answering constituents: “How will you improve your pathetically low 18% response rate to constituents’ correspondence, as registered on TheyWorkForYou.com if re-elected?”
Ivory: “Will you continue to lobby Theresa May about ivory in spite of such being highly unpopular with constituents and others such as Deborah Meaden?”
Pictured above: Annabel Mullin campaigning, Lady Borwick during the Brexit referendum and Emma Dent Coad
Pictured above: Annabel Mullin campaigning, Lady Borwick during the Brexit referendum and Emma Dent Coad
Victoria Borwick, Conservative Party
What will you do to help the ‘hidden homeless’ of Kensington?”
In Parliament, the Homeless Reduction Bill was recently passed –which was almost the last bill to be “signed off” before Parliament broke for the election. This puts pressure on local councillors to provide a range of early intervention solutions.
Current local services – There are a number of local churches who are working in this sector such as St Cuthbert’s (who I visited earlier this week) and our local charities.
From my previous work at the GLA, I know that although there is a hostel place for everyone that is not enough. People need more and longer-term help which is why there are some good charities working locally, for example the Glass Door Project and Homeless Link. I have also worked with several of the veterans’ charities whose aim is not “no second night out” but “no first night out”.
The situation with those that are “street homeless” – these are the people who, for a complex number of reasons, spend time living on the streets. Some do have somewhere to sleep at night, but spend the day on the streets and some live on the streets full time, including overnight.
The first port of call for street homeless people is a hostel and these fall into two categories. “Direct access” and those that require a referral from an agency. These agencies provide not only shelter but some way to address the terrible loneliness, mental health and other problems that most street homeless people feel. We need to look at the provision of hostels, but also work with the organisations that provide longer term support, to help people get over their crisis and get back on their feet – and this can take months, and sometimes longer.
There has to be short-term accommodation but also ways of dealing with the causes of street homelessness. There needs to be “move on” accommodation, for those that have managed to get themselves into a stable state, and where they are becoming independent, but may still need some ongoing support. I have visited services where they have a range of provision in the same location, I.E. those in immediate crisis and those that are more capable.
We need to provide services to help people with drug and alcohol problems which causes so many people to become street homeless, and also with the mental health problems that afflict so many of these people. The council’s Public Health Department has made this a high priority. I particularly welcome the changes to our mental health laws that the Prime Minister has pledged to bring in. These should make a big difference for homeless people with mental health problems.
Money park Kensington: “How will you help local businesses counter such decline if re-elected?”
I have grown up in Kensington and lived here all my life, with my family.
Supporting our small and medium sized local businesses is very important for all of us in Kensington. Local businesses are the backbone of our economy and provide employment and opportunities in our community.
Firstly we have to stop losing small independent businesses, as you have refereed to, so that people do not lose their opportunity to be working locally and also to start business locally. RBKC has continued with our planning exemptions, otherwise across London small businesses were being turfed out of their premises. Many local restaurants have sadly closed.
I have lobbied the Chancellor, and if re-elected will continue to lobby the Chancellor against the rash of additional regulations for small business – the proposed quarterly reporting, the apprenticeship levy – should be for larger firms, the pensions levy and of course the revaluation which has negatively impacted on our shops – and not on the out of town warehouses for mail order.
I recently undertook a survey of many local shops and businesses, either in writing or by visiting in person. On the basis of the response, I wrote to the Treasury, as indeed did the Borough, and also raised it personally with the Chancellor to see if there is any other way of looking at the rates – so that rateable value could be examined to take into account factors such as turnover, size of premises, whether the shop is independent or a chain of premises and so on. If re-elected, I shall continue to raise these concerns with other central London MPs as they affect us all.
I will continue to support local businesses by supporting any legislation in Parliament which will promote businesses and support our local economy.
Buy to Leave – This is a real issue in Central London, and this is something that, as an MP, I discussed with other Central London MPs from all parties. As we are aware this is “investment purchasing” where investors buy, usually a new property, and then do not live in it, and treat it as “money in the bank” which is why they don’t want it to be lived in as they want to keep it new.
When discussing this and researching what is actually happening – RBKC undertook a survey, as have Westminster Council on this topic. There is a pocket of properties where this is very prevalent, however there is not overall interest in this because it affect so very few nationally.
That does not make it any less of a problem – the previous Mayor tried to address this by saying that properties have to be marketed in the UK first, but we are often used to getting a mortgage first and these overseas buyers are cash buyers so naturally they can jump in. The new Mayor is also examining what measures can be taken.
There are examples in Switzerland and Australia where they have tried to tackle this issue. Buy to leave homes have a very negative effect on the community as there are less “eyes on the streets” less community activity and it is difficult for local business to survive.
By continuing to have schools and local amenities it brings together a community and encourages homes for families.
Brexit: “How, going forward, will you credibly represent the 48% who voted to ‘remain’, as someone who went on the phones to support ‘leave’?”
I previously worked for Open Europe which was working with the previous administration on renegotiation, which was my preferred stance. I had hoped that the EU would and could use this time to examine its own processes and undertake reform. I realise the result of the referendum is not the outcome for which everyone might have hoped. My chief concern was accountability, and it became clear there was little that could be done to persuade the Commission towards greater transparency.
As a country we voted to leave the EU. Parliament has voted on two occasions to implement the result, with cross-party support. All sides have agreed to respect the referendum and to get on with the re-negotiations. The Lib Dems may have also offered a second referendum on the result of the negotiations. Theresa May has said she will bring the final agreement to Parliament for a vote.
For Kensington, if re-elected, my role will be to lobby for reciprocal rights for all our long-term residents. Over 50% of the residents in Kensington were not born here and many have made Kensington their home for many years. We should continue to make sure they are welcomed and can continue to play an active part in our community. Many are also great contributors to voluntary and charitable works.
I will represent the views of Kensington in Westminster if I am re-elected; working closely with Ministers to make sure they understand the complexity of Kensington.
The choice for everyone is: “Who should be leading the Brexit negotiations?” Which team do you want? I am supporting Theresa May and her team. I support the PMs ambition to strive for a good outcome for the country.
Answering constituents: “How will you improve your pathetically low 18% response rate to constituents’ correspondence, as registered on TheyWorkForYou.com if re-elected?”
I have always prioritised urgent casework when responding to the vast amount of correspondence my office receives. I receive referrals and pleas for help from individual constituents, charities, churches, the mosque and other religious groups, along with organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau and free legal advice clinics. We have helped several thousand families over my time in Parliament. These referrals, usually from someone in crisis, do not come through “They Work for You” thus they are not logged in this way.
People tend to write to us on “They Work for You” if they are asking for our views on a particular campaign. If the campaign has nothing to do with Kensington residents, then I put my views on the website, so that people can see my opinion. However, I try not to comment on things that are not directly relevant to the majority of Kensington residents.
As a team – my priority is casework and dealing directly with residents, and meeting residents each week. I try to avoid “lobbying emails”. Obviously with complex cases we need to see the residents a number of times, and help them with their various meetings with officers or officials and if appropriate I also work with their local councillors (from any party) to make sure they are not left without support.
A Member of Parliament is often the last resort for people on housing, immigration and benefits. I have been able to help a great many residents since elected and I hope to continue to do this if re-elected.
Ivory: “Will you continue to lobby Theresa May about ivory in spite of such being highly unpopular with constituents and others such as Deborah Meaden?”
I supplied a full response to Deborah Meaden who said she was content with my response and why I am representing the antiques trade in Kensington and our great museums. She kindly offered to send my response to others who were concerned. I have offered to meet her should I get re-elected.
I support the current proposals which are to make sure we enforce the ban on trading in modern ivory.
No antique dealer wants to kill elephants; no antique dealer supports poaching. The only ivory that can be sold in this country is antique and carved. However, there are countries, including those in Europe who still permit the trading of tusks, although this is shortly to be outlawed – not before time.
We can and should preserve works of art that are our shared cultural inheritance for future generations, while at the same time doing everything in our power to ensure that these terrible assaults on wildlife do not continue. The next generation need to be able to grow up in a world with healthy herds of elephants. However, these are not mutually exclusive positions. This is a view expressed by some of our leading museums, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum.
As you will be aware many musical instruments contain ivory “tinkling the ivories – playing the piano” comes to mind as well as significant treasures in our churches. In our area we have three magnificent museums – the Natural History, V&A and Science Museums – and they all have ivory – antique and old ivory.
Both elephants and our shared cultural inheritance are there for us all; we need to work together to look after both, and I have no doubt that this is possible.
Annabel Mullin, Liberal Democratic Party
What will you do to help the ‘hidden homeless’ of Kensington?”
Rough sleepers and the homesless have had a very tough time of late. Funding has dried up, centres have closed and specialist help has become less frequent. We need to provide holistic care – that means that we must look at social care with mental health for these individuals alongside.
Money park Kensington: “How will you help local businesses counter such decline if re-elected?”
I would like to bring a private members’ bill to fundamentally change business rates as they are killing our local businesses.
Brexit: “How, going forward, will you credibly represent the 48% who voted to ‘remain’, as someone who went on the phones to support ‘leave’?”
As a passionate European and Remainer who feels we are best placed in the European Union, I will fight especially for being in the single market (not just access) and to protect the rights of all EU citizens and their freedom of movement.
Answering constituents: “How will you improve your pathetically low 18% response rate to constituents’ correspondence, as registered on TheyWorkForYou.com if re-elected?”
It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know people in and around Kensington over the last nearly seven weeks. It would be a privilege to serve Kensington and communicate with everyone.
Ivory: “Will you continue to lobby Theresa May about ivory in spite of such being highly unpopular with constituents and others such as Deborah Meaden?”
I find it incredible that China has a ban but the current MP for Kensington does not support it.
Emma Dent Coad, Labour Party
Emma Dent Coad (pictured with Gina Miller of Best For Britain)
Ms Dent Coad failed to respond to repeated requests from The Steeple Times to answer the five questions. They were put to her via email.
Kensington and Chelsea – The land of the ‘have-a-lots’ and the ‘have-nothing-at-alls’; an example of a contrast too far
The mere mention of the area of Kensington and Chelsea brings all sorts of connotations: One thinks of the Albert Hall and Hyde Park, Harrods and Harvey Nicks and one imagines affluence and culture. Here is an area that one associates with a certain kind of genteel elegance and one where both dowager duchesses and an educated, international community has long lived in harmony. Sadly, however, the apple cart has tipped and the area has descended to become a place where homeless people shiver on the streets whilst multi-million pound mansions lay rotting. This is an area that has had its soul ripped from its very being and this is an area that has fast become nothing but a money park with a hidden edge.
The cause of this undoubtedly unwelcome change chiefly can be laid at the door of foreign ‘High Net Worth’ (HNW) investors – individuals and corporations who’ve brought ‘Home-aggedon’ to the Royal Borough by snapping up buildings that were once filled with families for crazy sums – and greedy landlords focused on kicking out local businesses in favour of high-paying, trophy tenants. Where once prosperous operations, such as La Brasserie on Brompton Cross, traded for nearly fifty years, are now empty units and outside them sit homeless people begging for scraps.
Yes, there are ‘fake homeless’, but the problem is real and beneath the surface one also finds what can be termed the ‘hidden homeless’. These ‘have-nots’ and ‘have-nothing-at-alls’ sit in Pret stores and mind their own business. They cause no trouble but have been let down by the system. You’d be surprised how many such people there are in the Royal Borough and you should realise one thing: Us mere non-HNW mortals are just one pay cheque away from joining them.
Pictured top: A homeless man in Pelham Street; he ‘lives’ just across the road from the £105 million home of billionaire Professor ‘Muck’ Flick.
A Land of Contrasts – Meanwhile, in Knightsbridge, ‘homes’ (not that anyone lives in them) in One Hyde Park sell for up to £140 million
A Land of Contrasts – Now, in Fulham Road, even “trendy” cafes such as L’Eto are unable to afford their rents and are so desperate to get out of their tenancies that they display ‘to let’ signs whilst still trading
A Land of Contrasts – The area’s new wealth, meanwhile, flaunts its money in the most ostentatious fashion possible and has not a care for the community
New contributor Mark Newton shares his views on the “dubious record” of Lady Borwick, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Kensington
Kensington, Kensington, its name beats the drum of the Conservative heartland of London. Tory grandees have worked long and hard to be fortified in this Bastion with greats like Alan Clark, Michael Portillo and Malcom Rifkind amongst its previous tenants. To be given Kensington is to be awarded one of the safest, and most convenient seats in the land – a prize to be won by only the hardest working, and most industrious of MPs and this, to my mind, makes the continued selection of Lady Borwick (née Victoria Poore) as the Tory candidate even harder to understand.
Known locally by the epithet ‘Lazy Borwick’, this latest MP is cast quite differently from the usual Kensington mould. Lady (‘Call me Victoria’) Borwick’s stance on Brexit, lousy debate participation and letter response history, questionable use of public funds and ongoing links to shady businesses is creating quite the heated storm in the chattering leafy private gardens of Kensington. Over the next three articles, I’ll be taking a look at Lady Borwick to try to get to the bottom of how and why one of the safest Tory seats of the land came to be held by the one of the least worthy occupants.
Lady Borwick succeeded in getting her hands on Kensington after Malcolm Rifkind stepped down at the 2015 General Election. The circumstances of that coup are somewhat strange, not least because of the history of Kensington in selecting high profile and hard working MPs. What seems to have happened is simple nepotism. Lady Borwick, having twice failed to make the selection list for London mayor during Steven Norris’ candidacy, finally slid into the London Assembly in 2008 as one of three London-wide Conservative members. From there it was an easy promotion from Boris Johnson to the Deputy Mayorhood, and it seems no-one less than the great ‘BoJo’ himself shoe-horned her into the Kensington seat ahead of better qualified and more industrious candidates.
So why then is the epithet ‘Lazy Borwick’ doing the rounds in the Royal Borough? Surprisingly, it has very little to do with her controversial Brexit stance in a strongly Remain constituency. What’s got Conservatives up in arms is her uselessness as a constituency MP. According to the MP tracking website TheyWorkForYou, Lady Borwick’s response rate to written enquiries is just 18% – an abysmal score that places her 618th on a list of 641 responding MPs. If there’s one thing the well-to-do residents of Kensington don’t like it’s an MP who is too busy or lazy to respond to their well-meant enquiries, particularly a Member of Parliament who manages to be significantly less efficient than her much busier, high profile forbearers.
So, what, might you ask, is taking up so much of Lazy Borwick’s time that she can’t manage to get to her mail bag? Some suggest that it may be her tireless work for charity, yet, strangely, Lady Borwick’s parliamentary voting record seems to spit in the face of the charitable causes she purports to support. Recently, she has jumped on the laudable activities of @CleanAirLondon, a much needed initiative to clean up London’s diesel rich environment, yet in the Commons ‘Lazy Borwick’ has consistently voted against climate change measures, and against a greater public control of bus services. Hard to reconcile with the self-promotional pictures of her backing smart energy meters.
Lady Borwick also claims to support local hospitals and to regularly visit the elderly residents of Kensington. She even spoke at a recent debate in favour of mental health and mobility support. Yet in the House of Commons she has almost always voted against paying benefits to those unable to work due to illness or disability and has consistently voted against the terminally ill being given assistance to end their lives.
Finally, there are those who suggest ‘Lazy Borwick’ may simply be too busy with parliamentary duties to answer constituents’ letters, yet she spoke in just 15 debates in the last year, well below average amongst MPs, and dramatically lower than previous high profile Kensington MPs.
Whatever it is that keeps Lady Borwick entertained, it can’t then be serving the interests of her constituents, so to get answers we need to dig further, into her bizarre and odd beliefs about Europe, and her odd use of public funds and ties to ‘Big Data’ business.
Coming up next – ‘Brexit Borwick’ and residents’ anger in Kensington; the constituency with the greatest proportion of EU nationals of any London borough.
Pictured above – ‘Woman of the people’ Lady Borwick – a “director and member of Poore and Second Poore Ltd; holding companies limited by guarantee” – aboard a 40-metre yacht in 2014 with Sunseeker Cheshire’s Jonathan Kingsley. At the time Mr Kingsley commented: “It was a wonderful opportunity to promote our iconic brand and reinforce the British success of Sunseeker to this high profile, influential Lady. She, and her son, adored the boat”.
K&C resident Justin Downes shares his reasons for supporting Victoria Borwick, the Conservative Party Parliamentary Candidate for Kensington
It is sad that politics has become – if it ever wasn’t – such a filthy business. It is sadder still when a politician noted for integrity, hard work and compassion becomes the subject of a barrage of lies and politically motivated vilification.
Reading some of the remarks about the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Kensington Victoria Borwick in the comments section of a recent article in The Steeple Times, I wondered whether the individual referenced could possibly be same person I have known for so many years.
Could I be prejudiced because I vote Tory? That is doubtful: I haven’t voted Tory for many a year. Maybe, it is because I don’t think I have the political agenda that those attacking Victoria seem to and maybe it is because I believe I actually take people as I find them.
Like many thousands of other residents, I have always found Victoria Borwick ready to help anyone at any time, irrespective of who they might be. Have those authoring these derogatory comments ever met her? I doubt it.
In a world of boring conformity Victoria stands out as her own person. Many will remember the time RBK&C proposed destroying Sloane Square. Victoria – a lady I’ve never known to use the title ‘Lady Borwick’ – stood side by side with residents to the detriment of her political career. It was made clear to her by the then leader of the council, the hideous Sir Merrick Cockell, she would be out in the cold for years to come.
If Victoria faces one criticism, in my view, it’s that she gets over-involved in cases where an overbearing council is bullying the weak. I particularly remember the case of an old soldier, living in the most terrible of conditions, with developers harassing him at every turn. Victoria fought for him like a lioness. She would even pop by to ensure he had food for the weekend.
On a separate but connected note, I have recently been advising a very bright young Conservative candidate (yes, I am politically indifferent). He is facing selection for a Midlands seat: one that overwhelmingly voted ‘Leave’. He, himself, was a dogged and campaigning ‘Remainer’. He asked me, if asked, whether he should deny the fact.
My question to him was this: “Are you, or are you not, a conviction politician?” He replied he hoped he was. He answered his own question, took his chance and got selected. So, integrity does count in politics.
Justin Downes is a resident of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. He has been a reader of The Steeple Times for a number of years.
The Steeple Times welcomes well-reasoned and contrasting contributions from readers on all subjects as long as they comply with our editorial guidelines. Should you wish to contact us in such regard, please email [email protected]
Explaining her rationale for ditching the Tories and the party of her Brexit supporting Foreign Secretary brother, Boris Johnson, Rachel Johnson commented:
“This is single issue election. We could be going over a cliff on a hard Brexit… Everything on the table from last June is now off the table. Business needs to stay in the Single Market. It’s all lose, lose, lose… A second referendum gives the country another go”.
Answering a question about whether she plans to stand as a candidate herself, Johnson, a columnist for the Mail on Sunday, remarked:
“This is my paper making mischief to embarrass me… [But I am] not ruling anything out”.
Later, in the segment, she tempered this further by adding:
“I am very tempted to campaign in my constituency of Kensington and Chelsea”.
Given her comments, The Steeple Times urges Rachel Johnson to join with us to support Gina Miller’s Best for Britain tactical voting campaign and suggests she also throws her campaigning efforts behind the Liberal Democrats’ Annabel Mullin for Kensington and Louise Rowntree for Chelsea & Fulham.
#BritainDeservesBetter #MakeJuneEndOfMay
Louise Rowntree (left) pictured with Matthew Steeples of The Steeple Times and Annabel Mullin in Chelsea last week
The Johnson clan – Stanley Johnson (far left) with his children: Rachel, Boris and Jo
Cadogan Square flat for sale for a sum that, if achieved, could make it the most expensive subterranean home in London; it is offered at a price that equates to £2,130 per square foot
Created from the merger of two flats, one of which was marketed for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم14.1 million) in 2013, a basement apartment in Cadogan Square, Knightsbridge has gone on sale for the staggering sum of £6.25 million ($8.01 million, €7.35 million or درهم29.42 million).
Possibly one of the most expensive subterranean homes in London, if not the world, the 2,933 square foot remodeled apartment comes with a Moroccan themed courtyard garden and includes not only 2 reception rooms, 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, but also a coffee bar, a television room and a steam room. It is described as providing a “flexible living” space.
