Liam Downer-Sanderson: Labour don’t want to reopen Hammersmith Bridge. Local Conservatives will
Who benefits from this decision?
Cllr Liam Downer-Sanderson is a councillor for Fulham Town Ward on Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
“Keeping Hammersmith Bridge closed is something we may have to look at.”
Those were the words of a Labour Hammersmith and Fulham Cabinet Member at a council committee meeting on 2 February 2026. After seven years of disruption, delay and evasion, it was a moment of rare honesty.
Labour finally said out loud what many residents have long suspected. They are comfortable with the bridge staying closed to traffic permanently.
That position is wrong for Hammersmith and Fulham, wrong for London and wrong for the country.
Hammersmith Bridge was closed in 2019 after serious cracks were discovered in its foundations. The bridge is more than a century old and decades of heavy goods vehicles had taken their toll. Closure was unavoidable to prevent the risk of collapse.
The consequences were immediate and severe. Six key bus routes were diverted overnight. Emergency vehicles were forced onto longer, slower routes. Journeys to hospitals, schools and workplaces became harder, longer and more expensive. A vital transport link between Barnes, Richmond, Wimbledon, Hammersmith, Fulham and Chiswick was severed.
At that moment, the council’s task should have been obvious. Restore public transport and emergency access across the Thames as quickly and safely as possible.
Instead, Labour chose a different path.
Rather than pursuing interim or staged solutions to reopen the bridge to traffic, several of which were put forward at the time, the Labour Administration fixated on a single option. A full, gold-plated restoration costing around £250 million, with no credible timetable for reopening.
Years passed. Progress was minimal.
Recognising the scale of the problem, the Conservative Government stepped in with a pragmatic offer. To split the cost three ways between central government, Transport for London and the council. A deal was on the table. The route to reopening was clear.
Labour walked away, claiming the council could not afford it.
That argument simply does not stand up.
Because during the same period, Labour somehow found the money for something else. A brand new Town Hall. The Civic Campus project now exceeds £200 million. It was meant to be completed in 2023. It is opening three years late. And even now, Labour has allocated a further £38.5 million of capital funding in 2025/26, on top of tens of millions committed in earlier years.
This was never about affordability. It was about priorities.
Labour chose to prioritise a prestige building over restoring public transport, emergency access and everyday vehicle crossings across the Thames.
That choice tells you everything you need to know.
But the problem goes deeper than mismanagement or poor …
Who benefits from this decision?
Cllr Liam Downer-Sanderson is a councillor for Fulham Town Ward on Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
“Keeping Hammersmith Bridge closed is something we may have to look at.”
Those were the words of a Labour Hammersmith and Fulham Cabinet Member at a council committee meeting on 2 February 2026. After seven years of disruption, delay and evasion, it was a moment of rare honesty.
Labour finally said out loud what many residents have long suspected. They are comfortable with the bridge staying closed to traffic permanently.
That position is wrong for Hammersmith and Fulham, wrong for London and wrong for the country.
Hammersmith Bridge was closed in 2019 after serious cracks were discovered in its foundations. The bridge is more than a century old and decades of heavy goods vehicles had taken their toll. Closure was unavoidable to prevent the risk of collapse.
The consequences were immediate and severe. Six key bus routes were diverted overnight. Emergency vehicles were forced onto longer, slower routes. Journeys to hospitals, schools and workplaces became harder, longer and more expensive. A vital transport link between Barnes, Richmond, Wimbledon, Hammersmith, Fulham and Chiswick was severed.
At that moment, the council’s task should have been obvious. Restore public transport and emergency access across the Thames as quickly and safely as possible.
Instead, Labour chose a different path.
Rather than pursuing interim or staged solutions to reopen the bridge to traffic, several of which were put forward at the time, the Labour Administration fixated on a single option. A full, gold-plated restoration costing around £250 million, with no credible timetable for reopening.
Years passed. Progress was minimal.
Recognising the scale of the problem, the Conservative Government stepped in with a pragmatic offer. To split the cost three ways between central government, Transport for London and the council. A deal was on the table. The route to reopening was clear.
Labour walked away, claiming the council could not afford it.
That argument simply does not stand up.
Because during the same period, Labour somehow found the money for something else. A brand new Town Hall. The Civic Campus project now exceeds £200 million. It was meant to be completed in 2023. It is opening three years late. And even now, Labour has allocated a further £38.5 million of capital funding in 2025/26, on top of tens of millions committed in earlier years.
This was never about affordability. It was about priorities.
Labour chose to prioritise a prestige building over restoring public transport, emergency access and everyday vehicle crossings across the Thames.
That choice tells you everything you need to know.
But the problem goes deeper than mismanagement or poor …
Liam Downer-Sanderson: Labour don’t want to reopen Hammersmith Bridge. Local Conservatives will
Who benefits from this decision?
Cllr Liam Downer-Sanderson is a councillor for Fulham Town Ward on Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
“Keeping Hammersmith Bridge closed is something we may have to look at.”
Those were the words of a Labour Hammersmith and Fulham Cabinet Member at a council committee meeting on 2 February 2026. After seven years of disruption, delay and evasion, it was a moment of rare honesty.
Labour finally said out loud what many residents have long suspected. They are comfortable with the bridge staying closed to traffic permanently.
That position is wrong for Hammersmith and Fulham, wrong for London and wrong for the country.
Hammersmith Bridge was closed in 2019 after serious cracks were discovered in its foundations. The bridge is more than a century old and decades of heavy goods vehicles had taken their toll. Closure was unavoidable to prevent the risk of collapse.
The consequences were immediate and severe. Six key bus routes were diverted overnight. Emergency vehicles were forced onto longer, slower routes. Journeys to hospitals, schools and workplaces became harder, longer and more expensive. A vital transport link between Barnes, Richmond, Wimbledon, Hammersmith, Fulham and Chiswick was severed.
At that moment, the council’s task should have been obvious. Restore public transport and emergency access across the Thames as quickly and safely as possible.
Instead, Labour chose a different path.
Rather than pursuing interim or staged solutions to reopen the bridge to traffic, several of which were put forward at the time, the Labour Administration fixated on a single option. A full, gold-plated restoration costing around £250 million, with no credible timetable for reopening.
Years passed. Progress was minimal.
Recognising the scale of the problem, the Conservative Government stepped in with a pragmatic offer. To split the cost three ways between central government, Transport for London and the council. A deal was on the table. The route to reopening was clear.
Labour walked away, claiming the council could not afford it.
That argument simply does not stand up.
Because during the same period, Labour somehow found the money for something else. A brand new Town Hall. The Civic Campus project now exceeds £200 million. It was meant to be completed in 2023. It is opening three years late. And even now, Labour has allocated a further £38.5 million of capital funding in 2025/26, on top of tens of millions committed in earlier years.
This was never about affordability. It was about priorities.
Labour chose to prioritise a prestige building over restoring public transport, emergency access and everyday vehicle crossings across the Thames.
That choice tells you everything you need to know.
But the problem goes deeper than mismanagement or poor …
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