Hounslow (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Hounslow councillor Vickram Grewal has joined the Conservatives, accusing Labour of financial mismanagement in a move that adds pressure to the local authority.
Hounslow Labour has” driven the city to the point,” according to Mr. Grewal, who was tagged in 2018 and represents the Cranford ward. He blamed internal dissension , depleted city hall resources, and” vanity systems.”
Over the time, further than a dozen Labour councillors in London have defected to the rightists, Flora, Lib Dems, or independent alliances. The party has also lost several by- choices in the capital.
Mr. Grewal claimed that the government had allowed borrowing to grow out of control and imposed the largest tax increase in 30 years, and he could no longer support Labour’s “chaotic” handling of local and national budgets.
His action coincides with the fact that Labour is still losing council members who are unhappy with Sir Keir’s leadership.
“This month’s Budget will be even worse, and, just as we’ve seen in Hounslow, Labour’s mismanagement is hitting the families and businesses I was elected to represent,”
Mr Grewal , who had been selected as the Labour candidate for Chiswick Homefields at May’s local elections, added.
In recent months, the majority of disillusioned Labour council members have been welcomed by the Green Party. Earlier in November, Kath Whittam, a council member from Rotherhithe, switched to the Southwark Greens.
Over the summer, Liam Shrivastava, a councillor from Lewisham, and Mark Blake, a councillor from Haringey, based their defections on what they saw as the Prime Minister’s push of Labour to the right.
Martin Abrams, a former Lambeth Labour councillor, also departed for the Greens in September. Last time, he was suspended from Labour for championing a stir championing for a ceasefire in Gaza.
In September, three council members from Barking and Dagenham formed the city’s first formal opposition to Labour in further than ten times.
As they joined the Greens, Moin Quadri, Victoria Hornby, and Faruk Choudhury expressed their discomfort with Labour’s” turndown to take a principled stage on Gaza” and” espousing divisiveanti-immigration rhetoric.”
Citing Sir Keir’s turn to the right, two Labour council members from Hammersmith and Fulham, Trey Campbell- Simon and Liz Collins, also quit Labour in July and joined the Greens.
In March, amid widespread dissatisfaction with the government, pro-Gaza Independent Noor Jahan Begum was elected to the Redbridge Council seat left by the borough’s former leader, Jas Athwal.
Self-sufficient In a vote that same month, Theo Dennison, a former employee of George Galloway’s parliamentary office, won the Syon and Brentford Lock seat on Hounslow Council by a mere 12 votes.
Gareth Bacon, shadow minister for London, said:
“The Labour government have been in power for just 16 months, but already their disastrous handling of the economy can be felt the length and breadth of the country, with inflation double what it should be, unemployment rising, taxes at record levels, business confidence through the floor, borrowing and spending out of control.
With a dismal budget on the horizon and the government determined to press ahead with their disastrous Employment Rights Bill, things are only going to get even worse.
But people are waking up to this and it is not too late to start to fix the damage. Councillor Grewal’s defection is evidence of this. I warmly welcome his arrival as part of the London Conservative family.”
How might this defection affect upcoming local elections in Hounslow?
Vickram Grewal’s dereliction from Labour to the rightists is likely to consolidate the competitive atmosphere in forthcoming original choices in Hounslow, listed for May 7, 2026. Labour has traditionally held strong control over the council, winning a maturity in the 2022 elections.
This dereliction may buoy the Conservative Party and opposition groups by pressing internal challenges and enterprises about Labour’s fiscal operation of the council. It could also impact newer comprehensions, potentially reducing Labour’s vote share and adding support for rightists, especially in wards where similar desertions have passed.
Grewal’s switch may lead to more nearly contested races in certain wards, making the 2026 choices more competitive and potentially shifting the political balance in Hounslow.
