HOSPITAL FIRE: BBC Confirms NO SPRINKLERS In MAJOR FIRE INCIDENT WEST WING

 

Redbridge Towers Fire in 2017 with no sprinklers

"Were there sprinklers at yesterday's major incident fire at Southampton General Hospital? I am asking the hospital Chief Executive and Chief Medical Officers this and other questions."

asks prominent fire safety campaigner Andrew Pope, who is standing as the Independent Network candidate in the 26th February 2026 Shirley by-election.

Joe Campbell on BBC South Today this evening confirmed that sprinklers were NOT installed. It appears that the hospital's attempt at explaining why, is that the West Wing is "old" and that sprinklers might get expensive equipment wet and patients wet. We are asking more questions, and asking the Daily Echo and BBC to ask more for patients and local residents.

What do you think of the hospital's "explanation" of no sprinklers? 

Andrew says:  

"I raised sprinklers with the BBC's Emily Hudson yesterday and true to her word, she raised this with the reporter Joe Campbell. I will be thanking Emily and Joe for getting an answer. More answers are needed now though, once the immediate chaos caused by the fire has receded."

Why have Southampton Independents campaigned for sprinklers, ever since the first year we started in 2017?

Because sprinklers save lives. Sprinklers save property. They are, in the words of Nick Ross CBE in the video by the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA), "phenomenally successful". 

If you have any doubts about sprinklers, please watch the BAFSA video above. 

Sprinkler Saves reports: "Southampton City Council demonstrated its commitment to fire safety by agreeing, in June 2017, to fund the retrofitting of residential sprinklers within its twenty high-rise buildings as part of a phased programme, in response to the Grenfell Tower fire."  

We began our campaign earlier in 2017 after the Redbridge Towers fire, the Labour-run Council's Cabinet Member for Housing Warwick Payne said that residents did not want sprinklers and that the Council did not have the money. We made them commit to doing it and find the money. 

Please see a selection of reports of the below incidents where our campaign has saved lives and property, and the City Council and taxpayers money, and protected firefighters from tackling a worse incident, in Southampton:

• 13th August 2025, Irving Road, Southampton: HFRS incident reports: "high-rise sprinkler system in Southampton played a key role in containing a kitchen fire, protecting residents, and enabling firefighters to bring the incident under control". 
• 23rd March 2025, Redbridge Towers, Southampton: HFRS incident reports: "It is further reassuring to know that had this fire occurred inside one of the flats and not the sterile communal area, that the building is fitted with firefighting sprinklers. These would have contained the fire prior to our arrival but also protected the residents and assisted in their escape."
• 20th April 2021, Millbrook Towers, Southampton:  HFRS incident reports: "The sprinklers in Millbrook Towers did exactly what these systems are designed to do. By confining the fire to one room, the potential for this being a much more significant incident was averted."

 

Southampton City Council issued this update in 2024, with all 20 tower blocks having sprinklers installed, saying: 

"Since the sprinklers have been installed we have had five flat fires in our high-rise blocks. All of these have been suppressed by the sprinkler systems before the fire service arrived." 

Southampton Independents has continued its pressure, checking up on the Council's work.

Contrast the above safety improvements after our campaign with Redbridge Towers in 2017, Shirley Towers in 2010 and Albion Towers in 2017. Sprinklers were not installed. Both Labour and Tory-run Councils failed to do it, until we started our campaign.

It is now time for the Hospital to do the same.

 

Andrew Pope, Fire Safety Campaigner

 

CAMPAIGN UPDATE: A Sad and Controversial Goodbye To The Derelict Bridge Tavern Pub on Coxford Road

 

Andrew Pope Outside The Derelict Bridge Tavern Pub on Coxford Road

Shirley ward campaigner Andrew Pope has had confirmation from the Agent of the site developer that the development of the former Bridge Tavern is proceeding. Andrew says:

"I've had a response from the Agent today. I've told him of my disappointment that their proposal was approved by the big party councillors on the Council planning committee, but I have thanked him for his quick response to my questions.

There will be a delay but it may be "May" at the earliest before the pub is demolished. The Council and developer are having trouble agreeing the commitments that the developer must follow. And bats and other wildlife are inside the derelict pub.

I remain concerned on behalf of residents (and local bats, birds and other wildlife) of the impact of the development. I will keep a watching brief.

It's sad to see a pub be demolished but there was no way that I could save this pub. 

I have saved others in the New Forest, including the Anchor Inn at Eling and the Fleur de Lys at Pilley. I was standing for Parliament in New Forest East. Around that time, I also joined with campaigners to protect The Bittern pub at Bitterne from becoming a McDonald's.

Not all pubs can be saved though and not all pubs are wanted to be saved by local residents. The Bridge Tavern is obviously another that could not survive. I've met people who did enjoy the pub many years ago, including on Sunday when I was canvassing nearby, so the pub served its purpose and local residents for a long time. 

The Bush Inn on Maybush Road could not be saved, when I was councillor for Redbridge ward nearby. I asked local residents and they did not want the Bush Inn to be saved. 

At the time I was reported in the Echo saying that I was disappointed to lose another pub, but being an elected representative is not about what I want, it's about what local residents want. I listen to them and act on their views."  

Since 2024, co-founder of Southampton Independents Andrew Pope has listened to and stood up with residents of the Coxford / Maybush area (it depends on who you ask :) ) who live near to the derelict pub on Coxford Road.

The derelict pub is close to the Southampton General Hospital and is affected by hospital staff parking there, as is a very wide area going all the way from Romsey Road to Hill Lane, north and south of Winchester Road and in Shirley Warren. Andrew has confirmed this from listening to many residents of this area.

The latest proposal for the derelict pub was to develop the site, but the proposals were deeply flawed, residents told him. They did not understand why the Council had not rejected the planning application, because it did not improve on previous applications that had been refused.

Andrew added his voice to the objections to the planning application. He organised and ran a petition that local residents signed, and submitted this to the Council.

Andrew spoke up for residents at the July 2025 Planning meeting. What is not mentioned in the Echo report is that incredibly, Andrew observed the now ex-councillor Liberal Democrat George Percival, actually support the application, and shake the hands of the developer's representative at the Planning meeting. It turns out that Percival was committing a flagrant conflict of interest by mixing his occupation with his role as a councillor.

Andrew had previously asked the planning officer that the decision was made in public, so that planning officers could not make the decision bureaucratically and without public scrutiny. He also objected to the application and asked councillors to refuse it. 

The councillors were all from the big political parties: Labour, Tories, Liberal Democrats.

They approved the application despite the huge local objections that it should be refused and residents' views listened to. Southampton resident and supporter of Southampton Independents Felix, who attended the meeting with Andrew, said:

"This was the first planning meeting that I had ever been to. It seemed like the big party's councillors did not listen to Andrew or the residents who spoke at the meeting. They seemed to have made up their mind before the meeting.

But they did listen when Andrew demanded that the Park and Ride now be delivered, and not just be in strategy documents for even longer than the 12 years that Andrew has fought for it." 

Months passed. Nothing seemed to be happening, so Andrew wrote to the Agent of the developer for an update, who has confirmed today that the site will be developed from May at the earliest, due to delays in the legal agreements with the Council's planning officers, and further bat surveys. 

Bats are protected by law and are probably roosting in the derelict pub until May at the latest, "when the hibernation period for bats ends.", according to the Agent.

Andrew may not have stopped the proposal, but since 2024 he has worked hard to represent local residents, and he has had a victory on his 12-year Park and Ride campaign which has already reduced hospital parking and traffic. More details on that victory and his continuing campaign to make the Park and Ride be better, and hold the bus company, hospital and Labour-run Council to account, are on this website:

• here
•   here
•     and here.

HOSPITAL FIRE: "Were There Sprinklers at Yesterday's Major Incident Hospital Fire?" asks Andrew Pope Independent Network Shirley By-Election Candidate

 

Redbridge Towers Fire in 2017 with no sprinklers

"Were there sprinklers at yesterday's major incident fire at Southampton General Hospital? I am asking the hospital Chief Executive and Chief Medical Officers this and other questions."

says prominent fire safety campaigner Andrew Pope, who is standing as the Independent Network candidate in the 26th February 2026 Shirley by-election.

Joe Campbell on BBC South Today this evening confirmed that sprinklers were NOT installed. It appears that the hospital attempt at explaining why is that the West Wing is "old" and that sprinklers might get expensive equipment wet and patients wet.

Andrew says: "I raised sprinklers with the BBC's Emily Hudson yesterday and true to her word, she raised this with the reporter Joe Campbell. I will be thanking Emily and Joe for getting an answer. More answers are needed now though, once the immediate chaos caused by the fire has receded." 

 

Andrew Pope, Fire Safety Campaigner

Andrew says: 

"This Major Incident reminds me of the terrifying near-miss fire in early 2017 at Redbridge Towers when I was an Independent councillor for the Redbridge ward. Nobody died. But firemen did at Shirley Towers. Sprinklers were not installed back then in either of the Towers.

I campaigned and won for sprinklers to be installed in all Council tower blocks.  

Just yesterday though, I heard allegations by Council tenants in Shirley Towers that fire safety may have been compromised. The Cabinet Member for Housing, Labour Councillor Andy Frampton refused to answer the concerns that residents raised with me over fire safety. 

I am asking the same questions now of the Hospital's Chief Executive and Trust Board that I asked the Labour-run Council in 2017.

Although there are differences, this seems to be a very similar scenario. I have offered the Hospital's senior management the right of reply.

I hope that the hospital management do not pretend like the Labour-run Council did, that residents or patients do not want sprinklers. They do. And they need them. 

And this fire would very likely have been prevented completely, or better contained, if sprinklers were installed and working.

Sprinklers save lives and property and in the vast majority of cases, they contain or extinguish fires.

There would have been no need for over one-hundred firefighters to attend, and hundreds of patients moved internally and outside Southampton, and no need for a huge emergency service response, if sprinklers were installed and working in the endoscopy unit. Perhaps they were installed and failed, so I am asking Hospital senior management." 

The questions that Andrew has put to David French, the outgoing Chief Executive, and the Trust Board and Governors are as follows:

1. Were there sprinklers where the fire broke out?
2. If there were sprinklers, did they contain the fire?
3. If there were sprinklers, why didn't they put the fire out? 
4. Will the hospital review fire safety in this building and across the hospital estate, and install sprinklers? If so, where, by when?
5. If there were electrical, medical or other reasons why sprinklers were not appropriate for that location, please provide those.

If you want Southampton residents and patients to be protected from fire, please vote for Andrew Pope Independent Network at the 26th February Shirley by-election.

 

Independent Network Emblem

Perhaps hospitals are a special case where sprinklers do not work? No, definitely not. The experts on sprinklers, BAFSA, the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association, said in 2024:

 "The impact on UK hospitals and healthcare premises from fire is significant with 636 fires in hospitals in the year to September 2019.

The government’s fire standards for the NHS briefly mention, but do not commit to, the installation of sprinklers. The guidance also repeatedly states that where sprinklers are used, other fire prevention measures may be reduced to prove cost-benefits and design flexibility. Despite this even some new builds have not included sprinklers and almost no mental health trusts have sprinkler systems.
All sprinkler systems will save lives and: 

Protect firefighters
Limit the size of a fire
Control fire spread
Provide additional time to evacuate
Limit fire damage
Be beneficial in terms of business continuity
Compensate for any impairments in passive fire
protection measures"

 

Images and photos from Andrew Pope's previous campaigning work on fire safety are below and on many other posts and pages on the Southampton Independents website. This is just a selection of his work.

 

Daily Echo Front Page after Redbridge Towers 2017 fire

Daily Echo quoting Andrew Pope and Redbridge Towers residents

Damage to Redbridge Towers in 2017 Fire

Andrew Pope appearing on ITV News in 2017

Demo truck at Albion Towers, Southampton

Sprinkler Demo at Albion Towers

Evidence from Andrew Pope Investigation into Fire Safety in Council Tower Blocks

Andrew Pope Investigation into Fire Safety

Andrew Pope Investigation into Fire Safety

Andrew Pope Investigation into Fire Safety

CAMPAIGN VICTORY: Andrew Pope Leads On The Southampton Park and Ride to Reduce Hospital Parking and Hospital Traffic

 

Southampton Park and Ride Bus PR1 Finally Here

Redbridge resident John says:

"When Andrew Pope was our local councillor, of the three councillors we had, he was the one who got things done.

When the residents had a problem with the roadside trees not being maintained, Andrew got that sorted.

When I had a problem with the council tax band my home was in, Andrew came to my house and went through the options, and gave me the advice that helped get the band lowered. I can't see many other councillors doing that. 

Unlike most councillors, who owe their allegiance to one political party or another, Andrew, as an independent, can and does, work for the people who elect him." 

Andrew Pope was a Redbridge ward councillor from 2011 until 2019. The co-founder of Southampton Independents is standing as an Independent Network candidate in the latest Shirley by-election for Southampton City Council. Andrew says:

Independent Network Emblem

 

Andrew Pope, Independent Network and Southampton Independents

 

"People wanted action on hospital traffic and parking. For over a decade, I have listened, I have led, I have acted. I make the change happen, even when opponents do not like it.

I led and won a 12-year campaign for a Southampton Park and Ride for hospital staff and another for the public and football fans too. 

I led and chaired a Council inquiry into transport to the hospital. I held hospital management and chief executives to account for delivering the staff Park and Ride, and then the City Centre and St. Mary's Stadium Park and Rides. The hospital have kept their promises, but the Council has let our City and its visitors down.

I am holding the Labour-run Council and Cabinet Member for Transport to account, and the hospital and private bus company Bluestar to account for delivery, because what they've done so far is a good start, but it is not good enough. The bus company told me it was a "trial". I have asked Councillor Christie Lambert about this but she has failed to answer - and now has quit! My letter was published in the Echo.

 

"Park and Ride not good enough" Andrew Pope Letter in Echo

  

I ran a petition on the derelict pub, whose development proposal threatens more hospital parking problems because there is no parking on the site in the proposal. 

I spoke for you at the Council Planning meeting. Big political parties do not really care about you. They proved it by their councillors approving this pub proposal.

The two Labour councillors for Shirley - Councillor Alex Winning and Councillor Alice Kloker - did nothing on the pub proposal. They were not at the meeting and did not write to object.  I have asked them why.

The now ex-Lib Dem Councillor who caused this by-election actually supported the application and shook the hands of the people acting for the developers, in public, at the Civic Centre. Yes, George Percival really did that! I have never seen any councillor ever do that in all my years as a campaigner. He claimed to represent you but did the opposite, and then quit mid-term. The Lib Dems are still the Fib Dems.

When I spoke up for you at the Plannng meeting, I also called for the delivery of the Park and Ride. Shortly after, after years of Labour dithering, it finally happened. It wasn't a coincidence, I made it happen. 

I called in the Echo for the Labour Cabinet Member for Transport to be sacked, and he was. Captain Chaos Eamonn Keogh had to go, and the Portswood Bus Gate with him.

 

Andrew Pope Letter Calling For Eamonn Keogh to be sacked in the Echo

  

But who is responsible now his very brief successor Lambert has quit? I am demanding answers from the Leader of the Council Alex Winning.

I am here to serve you. I did what I said I would do, which is what I have done for Southampton and its people for many years, and I am standing again to be elected. 

The big political parties let you down, proved by the Lib Dems that caused this by-election, and by the Labour-run Council being incompetent. 

If you want independent representation, you have to vote for it.  

None of the other candidates in this election have the same track record of experience and passion as me. That's why more people are supporting me, and why my former constituent in Redbridge is prepared to be quoted.

Please vote for me, please support me, come and help me win, and please tell others."

 

The Shirley ward by-election is on 26th February 2026.

 

 

VOTE ANDREW DOUGLAS POPE, INDEPENDENT NETWORK CANDIDATE FOR THE SHIRLEY 2026 BY-ELECTION

 

Andrew Douglas Pope of the Independent Network and Southampton Independents

Emblem of the Independent Network

Andrew Douglas Pope is announcing his candidacy for the Shirley ward by-election on 26th February 2026, standing for the Independent Network. 

More information about Andrew Douglas Pope's campaigning, activism and organising work over the last three decades, is on this Southampton Independents website page here. 

Andrew, who was the co-founder of Southampton Independents, says:  

"Dear Residents of Shirley ward of Southampton City Council,

ANOTHER BY-ELECTION CAUSED BY ANOTHER BIG POLITICAL PARTY LETTING YOU DOWN

In 2024, residents had enough of political parties and encouraged me to stand as an Independent candidate. So I did! I listened. I acted. Labour or Tory, same old story, I said. Now add the Lib Dems. Their councillor was elected in 2024 but only lasted 15 months. He quit, causing this by-election.

Residents told me they wanted me to stand again next time. I promised to. So I am. Residents say:

“Andrew is genuine, knowledgeable, persistent and experienced. He knows what he is talking about and is very articulate.” (Resident Chris who lives in the Coxford part of the Shirley ward).

“Andrew is very enthusiastic and believes in what he is doing. I will be voting for him.” (Resident Derek who lives in the Maybush part of the Shirley ward).

“Andrew is very straight-forward and outspoken in his views. In my opinion, he is exactly what we need in Shirley.” (Resident Bogdan who lives in the Old Shirley part of the Shirley ward).

Residents support me because I listen, lead, and act. People wanted action on hospital traffic and parking. 

1. I led and won a 12-year campaign for a Southampton Park and Ride for hospital staff and another for the public and football fans too. Now I am pressuring the Council to get it right.
2. I led a Council inquiry into transport to the hospital and have held the hospital to its promises.
3. I ran a petition on the derelict pub and spoke for you at the Council Planning meeting.
4. I fought back against the Labour Council's stupid car restrictions, the Portswood Bus Gate and over-the-top 20mph limits. 
5. I called in the Echo for the Labour Cabinet Member for Transport to be sacked, and he was. 

Some of the 20mph limits were scrapped, including on Hill Lane. There’s more to do.

What issues matter to you? If you want independent representation, you have to vote for it. 

I am part of the Independent Network of councillors and campaigners. We work together with residents. Independents have won here in Southampton, on the Isle of Wight, and across England. I was a passionate Independent councillor for Redbridge and there were three in Coxford too.

Get in touch to tell me what matters. Listening carefully is vital. That is the start of taking the correct actions with experience and competence. More residents are joining my team and fighting back against the big political parties. I lead by example and inspire others to act. I’ve proved it.

Thank you for reading this letter. Please make sure other people in your household see it. Get in touch at the details below. Put this letter in your window to show your support.

Please vote for me on 26th February. Vote for independent representation and action."

Andrew Pope, Member of the Independent Network, Co-Founder of Southampton Independents

Park and Ride - New Labour Cabinet Member for Transport Takes Two Months To Reply - AND THEN QUITS!

 

Southampton's Weekend-only Park and Ride bus

 

Andrew Pope says: 

 

"What was good about Christie Lambert's very late answer was that she said that she was committed to a Park and Ride. 

But obviously she was not committed enough to the Park and Ride to stay in the Cabinet Member role to get the Park and Ride right before her departure.

She is still a councillor and Deputy Leader, so I expect her to ensure that I get answers to my questions now from her or her replacement, after nearly three months of patience. 

Other councillors know, and residents know, that I am an annoyingly persistent and experienced campaigner. 

I would not have won this 12-year campaign for Southampton, and visitors to our City, otherwise!"

 

Andrew speaking to BBC South Today

 

Winning the Park and Ride Campaign 

Our co-founder Andrew Pope initiated his campaign for a Southampton Park and Ride over 12 years ago, when he led a Council inquiry into hospital transport.

He kept up the pressure by calling in the bus companies and held hospital senior management to account to their "strategy" documents, including successive chief executives, over those years.

The hospital management kept their promise of a staff Park and Ride.

Andrew kept up the pressure for a public Park and Ride, because residents kept complaining about City centre congestion, including when Saints FC were at home.

And hospital parking, including staff parking on a wide area across Southampton near the hospital, both continued to be a problem.

Yet the Council continued to not deliver this public Park and Ride.

Then, when Andrew attended a Council Planning meeting, he continued the pressure by asking "Where is the Park and Ride?" to Labour councillors.

He had also called for the Labour Cabinet Member for Transport, Eamonn Keogh, to be sacked, in a letter to the Daily Echo. Keogh was sacked and replaced by Councillor Christie Lambert. 

As if by magic, the public Park and Ride happened shortly after.

 

Making Improvements

But the weekend Park and Ride, in Andrew's opinion, the Park and Ride that the Council, Bluestar and hospital had delivered was not good enough.

So he went and checked. And checked again.

Then he wrote into the Daily Echo, who published his letter, pointing out the shortfalls.

He wrote to the new Cabinet Member Christie Lambert with some questions, and a copy of the letter.

And he wrote to Bluestar, and the hospital Chief Executive, giving them a right of reply.

 

No Response from the Cabinet Member

Bluestar responded and said that "obviously" the Park and Ride was a "trial". This was never communicated to the public in the Council press release.

The hospital Chief Executive did not respond, which sadly was the level of response of previous chief executives at the first attempt on a range of issues that Andrew raised with them.

And the Labour Cabinet Member for Transport did not respond.

For two months.

And then, days before Christmas 2025, she finally answered and apologised for the delayed response.

Then it was reported in local media that she had quit from the role of Cabinet Member.

So she has been given the opportunity to answer again, including of whether this was a "trial".

INVESTIGATION: Empty Park and Ride Buses "Not Good Enough" says Campaigner Andrew Pope

 

Southampton Public Park and Ride Bus at Adanac Park
Photo: Southampton Independents

Campaigner and Founder of Southampton Independents Andrew Pope went along to investigate the new Park and Ride for the public to use at the weekend, to see if it met his expectations, having campaigned for it for over a decade. 

His letter was published in the Southern Daily Echo on Monday 13th October 2025.

Bluestar buses, the Chief Executive of University Hospitals Southampton and Southampton City Council's Cabinet Member for Tranposrt, Councillor Christie Lambert, have been offered the opportunity to comment. At the time of writing, only Bluestar have responded.

 

Andrew Pope Park and Ride Letter in Southern Daily Echo
13th October 2025 

The full text of the letter is below. 

 

Former Councillor Andrew Pope Speaking to BBC South Today

 

Park and Ride Not Good Enough  

"As a long-term campaigner for a better Southampton for residents and visitors, I was very pleased that a campaign that I began in 2013 has been successful.

A Southampton Park and Ride is finally here, after years of road chaos and pollution caused by visitors and workers who do not live here.

Bluestar and the Hospital were always helpful in this campaign. Southampton City Council dithered and delayed for over a decade.

So I had to remind councillors at the recent Planning meeting about the delay. It seems to have worked, as weeks after my speech there, and after such a long delay, it finally happened.

And now it is here, but it is not good enough. Now it is here and it has to be made to work, and work all week, not just at weekends.

So when I checked up on the actual Park and Ride that is operating over the past few weeks, I was concerned to see the poor promotion of it. And almost empty or completely empty buses, which I confirmed with the drivers.

Yes, it will take time for people to start to use it, and it is early days, only a month in.

But the signage and information, marketing and promotion need to be improved dramatically, and quickly.

It all seemed to be reliant on online information, and obviously that is no good for someone who is driving.

Apart from a tiny sign on a lamppost, there was no information at Adanac Park about fares, parking costs, how to get a ticket, or who to get it from.

And there were no signs on the M271 telling passengers to go off at Junction 1. I noticed this, and so did the bus drivers, who said they had told bus management. 

So Park and Ride passengers would be confused and annoyed, and either end up at Romsey, back on the M27 or in Southampton - defeating the purpose of a Park and Ride completely!

I can hear the lame excuses from the Council already, saying that the M271 is Highways Agency or part of a road is Hampshire County Council. Frankly, I don't care about passing the buck, I heard that countless times when I was a councillor for eight years. 

It's the Council's job to co-ordinate in any partnership arrangement.

Fixing all of the above will improve passenger numbers, visitor satisfaction and drive Southampton towards a permanent and daily Park and Ride, something our City badly needs. I will carry on campaigning."

Southampton Independents Emblem

CAMPAIGN VICTORY: 3 Years Later, Southampton Labour's Disastrous Portswood Bus Gate Is Gone!

 

Councillor Eamonn Keogh SACKED From the Cabinet

 

 ... just two months after the Cabinet Member for Transport Captain Road-Chaos Councillor Eamonn Keogh had been sacked from the Cabinet, amid comments that he was proud of his record, with Keogh saying he was:

"very proud of the improvements that the transforming cities grant has brought to the city".

In a letter published in the Daily Echo in February 205, campaigner and former Southampton Independents Councillor Andrew Pope called for Keogh to be sacked from the Cabinet by the former Labour Leader of the Council Lorna Fielker. She refused to. She lacked the authority, it seemed.

Former Council Leader Councillor Lorna Fielker

Keogh was allowed to go ahead with the scheme by Fielker, despite the huge outcry against it. So the call for his removal was necessary. 

Shortly after Pope's call in February 2025 for the sacking of Keogh, suddenly and shockingly, the previously weak Conservative Council opposition developed a backbone and called for Keogh to resign. This did not happen, either. 

It took another failed Labour Leader of the Council to go (Fielker), before it was finally confirmed by the Daily Echo this week that the Portswood Bus Gate "would not return". Previously, the Council had only announced that the "trial" had been "suspended". Keogh had tried to cling onto his Cabinet role, amid the suspension.

This is a victory for local residents, for Southampton Independents and for Andrew Pope, who joined residents and businesses in the campaign against the Portswood scheme in 2022 and encouraged people to sign the petition against the proposals in 2023.

Fresh from his twelve-year campaign victory getting a Park and Ride for Southampton, and seven-year win on safe standing at St Mary's Stadium, Andrew says:

 

Andrew Pope victorious in the Safe Standing campaign
Park and Ride and now the Portswood Bus Gate

 

"I always said that this Portswood Broadway was a stupid idea that should never have been done. 

Eamonn Keogh claimed to have listened to residents and businesses. He did not and carried on regardless. 

We had to work together to make him listen. He simply had to go if he did not.

Working with residents, and having contacted the residents groups, I spent my own time, campaign know-how and money on printing letters as a volunteer campaigner and carefully listening to Portswood residents and businesses.

The Daily Echo reported on my work, and the work of other campaigners. Thanks to all of them, we've won!

I put out a lot of letters and spent a lot of time on people's doorsteps as a volunteer in our City. Why?

Because the vast majority of local people did not want this. The consequences of the scheme were clear, yet Southampton Labour councillors went ahead with it anyway. 

It should not have taken THREE YEARS to stop this. Labour should never have done it in the first place.

Now there are lots of other stupid transport ideas that Eamonn Keogh carried out in our City, that Labour have to undo if they are to keep their Council seats at next year's local elections. Road chaos has to stop. 

Labour is already very unpopular in the national Government. The Prime Minister Keir Starmer is spending more and more time on foreign policy, which is what failing leaders have done throughout history. 

What matters is delivery for Southampton residents, and Labour have failed us - nationally in Government and locally in the Council.

Now, even Labour's own councillors are leaving the sinking Southampton Labour ship and running away to other Westminster parties. 

Do any of the current Southampton City councillors have the talent or conscience to be Independent councillors who represent Southampton residents instead of their failing Labour Party? We will see. Southampton people need proper independent representation for each ward of our City.

Like I said when I left Labour over ten years ago, it's time for Labour to be removed from power at Southampton City Council, because they lack the vision and leadership that our City needs. The evidence of that is impossible to ignore. They've had their chance, over ten years of power, and they've blown it."

 

Former Southampton Independents Councillor Andrew Pope

CAMPAIGN VICTORY: Twelve Years Later, Southampton now has a Park and Ride!

Former Southampton City Councillor Andrew Pope

Southampton finally has a Park and Ride for members of the public to use!

It has taken twelve years, and a lot of campaigning work and pressure, but it is finally here, as confirmed on the Southampton City Council website.

The Park and Ride has been a long time coming. Twelve years!

Campaigner and founder of Southampton Independents Andrew Pope started the campaign for a Southampton Park and Ride twelve years ago, back in 2013, when he was still a Labour Councillor on Southampton City Council and Parliamentary Candidate in the 2015 General Election for the New Forest East Constituency.

Andrew says:

"I am delighted to deliver another campaign win that benefits the people of Southampton, to reduce the chaos on our roads, to improve the air quality of our City, and to welcome visitors to Southampton in an orderly and sensible way.

This Park and Ride should have been delivered ten years ago, but as I said at the Council's Planning meeting recently, the Labour-run Council kept writing it in strategy documents but delivered nothing. 

So I had to keep up the pressure with various actions. That is what a campaign needs.  

Of course back in 2018 I realised that suggesting Lidl should pay for it was not a realistic suggestion, but it kept the issue in the headlines of the Daily Echo and put a focus on the issues in that part of the Redbridge ward that I used to represent on the Council.

 

Lidl Construction on Brownhill Way

The Inquiry that I ran in 2013 put pressure on the Hospital to deliver, as did my meeting with the Chief Executive and senior staff. They kept their promise to my Committee. I thanked Hospital staff for that back then and I thank them again now. 

A Park and Ride for hospital staff was a good start. What was needed was one for the public.

During the Shirley by-election in 2024 for which I stood as an Independent candidate, I heard so many Shirley, Coxford and Maybush residents complaining to me on their doorsteps, about hospital parking impacting their area, from Upper Shirley all the way to Wimpson Lane. Park and Ride would help. 

And now, there is a weekend Park and Ride.

It will be interesting to see how this can be made to work well, and then to operate it all week. Southampton needs this. 

As I did with my successful 7-year safe standing campaign and the years-long campaign for sprinklers in all Council tower blocks, I have showed that I deliver for Southampton, no matter what it takes or how long it takes.

I hope that I can continue to inspire other independent campaigners to act for our City, including those who saw me speak at the Planning meeting."

Andrew Pope's Safe Standing Campaign front-page of the Daily Echo

Andrew Pope's Sprinkler Campaign front page in the Daily Echo

Details of Weekend Park and Ride

Southampton City Council's website states:

"Avoid city centre traffic and enjoy easy travel with Southampton’s new Park & Ride service, running on weekends and public holidays. Simply park your car in the car park at the Adanac Health & Innovation Campus multi-storey and hop on a bus to the city centre. It is quick, convenient, and great value!

The car park is accessed from Adanac Drive, SO16 0AZ and is open from:

    6:30am to 9pm on Saturdays
    8.30am to 7pm on Sundays and bank holidays (except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day)

Buses will run every:

    20 mins from 7am to 7pm on Saturdays
    30 mins from 7pm to 8.30pm on Saturdays
    20 mins from 9am to 6pm on Sundays and bank holidays"

 

The Details of the Twelve Year Campaign 

In 2012-2013, as Chair of the Council's Health Overview Scrutiny Panel (HOSP), Councillor Pope ran an Inquiry into transport at the hospital, and saw the need for a Park and Ride for Southampton. He confirmed the plans of the Hospital for a Park and Ride for the hospital in his report in 2013 titled "REPORT OF HEALTH OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY PANEL PUBLIC AND SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT PROVISION TO SOUTHAMPTON GENERAL HOSPITAL – MINI REVIEW".

In the Recommendations of the Inquiry as outlined in the report:

"The (Hospital) Trust confirmed they had been working to improve transport related issues around the hospital such as hospital parking, park and ride, encouraging cycling and provision of shower facilities." 

Councillor Pope confirmed with the Hospital that they would be:

"Procuring and partnering with local organisations to provide staff with 2 x Trust subsidised Park & Ride services with parking for nom’ 320 staff, removing those cars from the hospital site and also local Southampton road networks." 

Then, after authoring the Labour Council's 2014 Local Election Manifesto, when he left Labour shortly after the 2015 General Election as reported by the Daily Echo, Andrew kept up the pressure on the Park and Ride as the first Southampton Independents councillor on Southampton City Council.

 

Independent Councillor Andrew Pope on BBC South Today

Pope met with the then Chief Executive of the Hospital to discuss the Park and Ride and other issues around the hospital such as parking problems, transport and litter in the area. He later attended another meeting with other Hospital staff to discuss their concrete proposals for a Park and Ride for hospital staff, following up on the promise from the Inquiry that he ran. 

Pope had also listened to the concerns of residents over transport in the City during his entire time as a councillor for eight years, and standing in the 2017 General Election as a Southampton Independents candidate.

 

Southampton Independents Campaigners During the 2017 General Election

 

That Park and Ride later became operative, running - not entirely coincidentally - from near to the new Lidl on Brownhill Way. 

But this was not the end of the campaign. Southampton's residents, the quality of our City's air and visitors to Southampton needed a Park and Ride. 

The regular chaos on Southampton's roads proved how badly the Park and Ride campaign was needed.

 

Keeping Up The Pressure in 2025 

Pope's most recent action on the Park and Ride was when he spoke up, not as a councillor but as a concerned campaigner, on behalf of local residents at the Council's Planning Committee to object to the lack of parking in a proposal to redevelop the derelict Bridge Tavern on Coxford Road, very close to the Southampton General Hospital. 

He mentioned the park and ride when he spoke at the public meeting, and in a statement given to all councillors at the meeting, kept up the pressure:

"Where is Southampton's park and ride for the general public? The one for the staff is a start, but it isn't anywhere near enough. The hospital parking is still a massive problem for Shirley, Coxford and Maybush residents. Until the park and ride is there, the hospital will still be impacting on residents." 

And now, the Park and Ride is finally here!

This is what Southampton Independents and Andrew Pope do - deliver for Southampton.

 

 

Pope Calls For Captain Chaos Councillor Keogh To Be Sacked - Yet Labour's Leader of the Council Defends Him

 

Captain of Chaos Councillor Eamonn Keogh
Photo: Southampton City Council

In mid-February, founder of Southampton Independents and former Independent Councillor Andrew Pope called in a letter published by the Daily Echo for Councillor Eamonn Keogh to be sacked by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Lorna Fielker.

This call from outside the Council sparked calls from so-called "opposition" councillors to actually provide some opposition, and have called for Keogh to resign.

Incredibly, as a result of the pressure from outside the Council and inside it, Lorna Fielker has defended Eamonn Keogh and the disastrous Portswood Broadway changes, saying:

Councillor Lorna Fielker
Leader of Southampton City Council
Photo: Southampton City Council

"We understand that change can be challenging, which is why the bus gate project is a trial. 

The council is closely monitoring its impact by collecting data, actively listening to the community, and making adjustments to ease congestion and improve road safety where concerns arise.

"Throughout the trial, Councillor Keogh has been regularly visiting the area, holding formal meetings with residents and the local school to hear concerns firsthand, and he will continue to do this.

"These insights will help inform decisions as the trial progresses."

Andrew Pope responds:

"I am pleased that Conservative councillors have finally provided some opposition. When I too was in opposition on the Council as an Independent, their opposition was regularly supine. And even now, they regularly agree with Labour.

Labour or Tory, same old story, Southampton people say.

Whether sacked or resigned, it doesn't really matter how he goes, Councillor Keogh must go, for the good of our City, its residents and businesses.

Remember that Councillor Lorna Fielker as Leader of the Council decides who is in her Cabinet, and it is Labour Councillors who decided that she should be Leader, when Satvir Kaur resigned having brought the Council to its knees with her Labour councillors supporting her.

The public did not elect Keogh to his disastrous tenure, and what is in fact a dangerous tenure. 

It's the Labour Party and Cllr Fielker that has put him as Cabinet Member for Transport, and which is keeping him there. 

That is how undemocratic the Cabinet and Leader system is. It prioritises party over people. Other cities like Bristol and Sheffield have brought in a Modern Committee System, that priorities people over parties. Ward councillors have more of a say, instead of political parties. That is how democracy is supposed to work, but Labour don't want that. They didn't want it in Bristol or Sheffield, either.

Labour's Eamonn Keogh has caused chaos across the City, especially in Portswood. He has failed to listen to residents of Shirley and Freemantle over the 20mph signs, and to remove them.

Cllr Keogh has created chaos in the City Centre, and shown his incompetence at the basics, as reported by the Echo, Keogh couldn't even ensure spare parts were in stock to fix our roads, leading to even more delays.

So it is very worrying that Lorna Fielker lacks the authority as Leader to make a decision for the benefit of our City, to sack Eamonn Keogh from the Cabinet.

Surely she realises that she might salvage some credibility for the Council, which Labour has led to bankruptcy and a shameful reputation amongst local government officers in Hampshire.

Or perhaps it is too late for Labour and they are hanging on by their finger nails, losing by-election after by-election until their inevitable demise under a Labour Government.

There will be elections in May 2026, and the residents of Southampton might decide that it's time for Lorna Fielker, and her Labour failures, to go from the Council."