Hounslow (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Hounslow Labour faces escalating turmoil as Councillor Vickram Grewal becomes the fourth member to quit the group within seven days, raising questions over party stability.
Mr. Grewal, a Cranford council member, was chosen again to represent Hounslow Labour in the original choices of 2026. However, he claims that “local and national financial mismanagement” is the reason he quit the party.
He said:
“Hounslow Labour has driven our borough to the brink. They’ve created a £28.3million budget black hole and gambled £230million of taxpayers’ money on the failing Lampton Group company.
Reserves are being drained to cover mistakes caused by internal infighting and vanity projects. As a financial professional, I cannot stand by while the council puts our borough’s future at risk. Local people and businesses deserve competence, not chaos.”
With further votes than any other contender in the city, Cllr. Grewal was first tagged in 2018. He chaired the Housing and Environment Scrutiny Committee and worked as the Labour Cabinet’s Cabinet Assistant for Education.
Cllr Shantanu Rajawat, Leader of Hounslow Council, hit back at Cllr Grewal, saying he never let his responsibilities “weigh too heavily upon him”. He added:
“Since defecting, however, Cllr Grewal seems to have swapped his red rosette for a tinfoil hat.
Rather than offering a credible plan to invest in public services and improve the lives of our residents, the Tories seem to be pushing a ‘Chicken Little’ conspiracy about the state of the borough’s finances. Hounslow is actually in a strong financial position, as Cllr Grewal will know from when he voted through our last budget.
Whilst it is true that local government faces financial challenges, those challenges were largely created by 14 years of Conservative Governments, who chose to cut funding to local communities like ours. The local Conservatives, including Cllr Grewal, have some nerve to complain about the state of council finances. One of their most recent budget amendments included an £8.8million unfunded raid on our General Reserves.”
Three more council members have resigned in the past week, bringing Hounslow Labour’s total losses to four. Last week, Cllr. Raghwinder Siddhu also left the party.
Senior Shadow Cabinet members attended the announcement of Cllr. Grewal’s dereliction on Saturday, November 15. Attendees included Gareth Bacon MP, the Shadow Minister for London, and Kevin Hollinrake MP, the president of the Conservative Party.
Gareth Bacon MP said:
“People are waking up to this [the Labour Government] and it is not too late to start to fix the damage. Cllr Grewal’s defection is evidence of this. I warmly welcome his arrival as part of the London Conservative family.”
What reasons have departing councillors given for quitting Labour?
Disgruntlement with public leadership under Sir Keir Starmer, described by some as authoritarian and centralist, with allegations of ignoring or manhandling original voices and grassroots members.
Opposition to weak reforms and austerity measures similar as cuts to downtime energy allowance, two- child benefit caps, and turndown to apologize for major shafts, which some councillors see as abandoning working- class and vulnerable communities.
Frustration over blocked education and deselection within Labour’s internal seeker selection processes, frequently for those perceived as differing or not completely aligned with party leadership. Claims of a culture of top-down control, bullying, and repression of independent or differing voices within original Labour groups.
