Labour councillors across London are leaving the party ahead of the 2026 local elections
A West London councillor has defected from Labour to the Conservatives. Councillor Vickram Grewal is the fourth to have left Hounslow Labour in seven days.
Mr Grewal, councillor for Cranford, had been re-selected to stand for Hounslow Labour in the 2026 local elections. However, he has left the party over what he describes as “local and national financial mismanagement”.
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.”
Cllr Grewal was first elected in 2018, with more votes than any other candidate in the borough. He served as Cabinet Assistant for Education in the Labour Cabinet, and was Chair of the Housing and Environment Scrutiny Committee.
Due to stand as a Labour candidate for Chiswick Homefields in 2026, he said: “I have seen first-hand the damage this Labour-run council has done to Chiswick. Hounslow Labour treats Chiswick like a cash cow and cannot be trusted to represent its interests.
“Earlier in the term, the Council Leader branded Chiswick a ‘backwater’—a comment that exposes this administration’s contempt for the area. I could not, in good conscience, stand to represent the Chiswick community for a party that has shown such clear disdain for this part of the borough.”
He added: “Chiswick is lucky to have such hardworking Conservative councillors who fight continuously for their area. Residents I’ve spoken to here have high praise for their local Conservative representatives, and I feel privileged to now be able to work alongside them as part of the Conservative Group.”
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.”
Hounslow Labour have now suffered four losses, with three other councillors resigning in the last week. Cllr Raghwinder Siddhu also quit the party last week.
An event which took place on Saturday (November 15) to announce Cllr Grewal’s defection was attended by senior members of the Shadow Cabinet. Kevin Hollinrake MP, Chairman of the Conservative Party, and Gareth Bacon MP, Shadow Minister for London, were both in attendance.
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.”
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