Labour Tighten Their Stranglehold on the Borough

Conservatives lose their only remaining seats outside Chiswick

Council leader Steve Curran in front of a predominantly red map of the borough

Labour has taken every Council seat in the borough of Hounslow outside of Chiswick in the local elections held on 3 May.

Even in Chiswick the Conservatives were under pressure and held onto one seat in Turnham Green ward by just 142 votes prompting local MP Ruth Cadbury to describe it as the best performance by the party in that area for 20 years.

The failure of the Conservatives to hold their two seats in the Osterley and Spring Grove ward means that all of their nine seats in the Council are in the W4 area. Labour has the other 51.

Composition of Hounslow Council

The declarations started well for the Conservatives with the Turnham Green result the first to be announced. Joanna Biddolph, Ron Mushiso and Ranjit Gill won the seats with a majority significantly below the Conservative candidates in the 2014 but the seat was widely regarded as the Conservative's most vulnerable in W4. Just 142 votes separated the fourth placed Labour candidate from the third placed Tory. However, with Turnham Green in the bag there was reason for the Tories to be optimistic about defending their two other Chiswick wards.

Turnham Green's new Councillors - Ron Mushiso, Joanna Biddolph and Ranjit Gill

Joanna Biddolph told ChiswickW4.com that she would be getting straight to work as she had a list of forty cases to deal with. "It was tough going but we got there in the end," she said. "I want to thank everyone who voted for me and put their trust in me to do this job and to improve Turnham Green ward."

She said Gunnersbury Park Garden estate had been neglected for too long and would be an area of focus for her. The problem of potholes and waste and refuse collection would also be a priority. She would also work on the issue of the Cycle Superhighway 9 opposing it in its current form.

Ron Mushiso said that he was "delighted" with his result. He scored second highest in the poll after Joanna Biddolph. Areas of concern for him in Chiswick were air pollution, refuse collection, and he was also worried about cuts to services such as the proposed closure of the Hogarth Youth Centre.

Ranjit Gill said that he was very happy with the result. "We listened to the public and they appreciated that we can do the work. We will be back to visit the voters and do what they want us to do."

Turnout was well up on the previous election with 43.1% of the electorate voting well above the average for the borough.

Turnham Green Ward Election Result - 3 May 2018
Name	Party	Votes	%	Elected
Joanna Biddolph	Conservative	1,612	15.50%	Yes
Ron Mushiso	Conservative	1,426	13.70%	Yes
Ranjit Gill	Conservative	1,394	13.40%	Yes
Peter Lewis Burgess	Labour	1,252	12.00%
Ruth Suzanne Mayorcas	Labour	1,250	12.00%
John Robert Stroud-Turp	Labour	1,153	11.10%
Helen Diana Cross	Liberal Democrat	859	8.20%
Leigh Gareth Edwards	Liberal Democrat	738	7.10%
Chris Gillie	Liberal Democrat	733	7.00%
Total:10,417

Local wards in Brentford and Syon had their results announced early and Labour retained all the seats they held there comfortably giving an indication of the way people had voted across the borough. The first ward to declare in the Brentford and Isleworth area was Brentford which Labour held with a majority similar to the last election. Turnout in the ward was low at just 33.9% which was below the borough average of 36.1% Mel Collins, Guy Lambert and Corinna Smart were elected to the Council in this ward.

Hounslow Council leader Steve Curran topped the poll in the vote in Syon ward. He was re-elected along with his two Labour colleagues. They achieved an increase in their vote and the size of the majority although the latter was helped by no Community candidates standing this time.

After holding on to Turnham Green ward it was not a surprise that the Conservatives managed to retain Chiswick Homefields which was next to declare. Their three candidates held onto the seat with votes to spare although the rise in their majority may be down to more parties standing this time. John Todd topped the poll followed by Gerald McGregor and Patrick John Barr.

Patrick Barr, John Todd and Gerald McGregor celebrate their victory

First time councillor Patrick Barr said that he was "absolutely honoured" to be given the opportunity to represent the residents of Homefields. He looked forward to working with veteran councillors John Todd and Gerald McGregor. Some of his areas to focus on included continuing to oppose the CS9 in its present form, though he was not anti cycling. He would also keep up the pressure to make sure that changes proposed for Charing Cross Hospital were transparent to all and reassure people that Charing Cross was not closing. He would hold the Council to account for their record on roads, and potholes etc.

John Todd said simply - "I am delighted to carry on".

Turnout was well up on the previous election with 46.3% of the electorate voting well above the average for the borough.

The Conservatives have retained Chiswick Riverside ward with an ample majority although significantly reduced majority for all three seats.

Notionally as a 'safer' seat than the other two wards in W4 there was little risk of defeat here once the results were announced in Turnham Green and Chiswick Homefields wards.

Incumbent Councillor Sam Hearn topped the poll followed by Michael Denniss and Gabriella Giles.

Sam Hearn and Gabriella Giles

Gabriella Giles told ChiswickW4.com that she was "really excited" to represent her ward and looking forward to promoting safer cycling, and working with volunteer groups, and also scrutinising Hounslow Council.

Sam Hearn said, " The voters have decided. Looking forward to working for the ward again".

Michael Denniss

Michael Denniss said that he was "delighted" with the result and looked forward to meeting with residents in the ward ad working to solve the issues that they care about. In particular he would be working with the Shelter Project on homelessness, and he was keen to see that potholes were filled in.

Sally Malin and Ruth Mayorcas , two Labour first-time candidates who lost out to the Conservatives said, " We had a great group working with us. It was a much closer vote than previously and we felt we got a terrific response on the doorsteps"

Sally Malin and Ruth Mayorcas

They thanked their campaign manager and agents for all their hard work.

Sally said, "Even though we didn't win we will continue to work with the community on various issues." She had a personal vote which brought her as close to the Conservatives in this ward as any opposition candidate over the past two decades.

The Polish Pride party who were controversially nominated by members of the local Conservative party had little impact on the result with their candidate gaining just 76 votes.

Turnout was well up on the previous election with 45.5% of the electorate voting well above the average for the borough.

Leader of the Council Steve Curran (Labour) told chiswickw4.com that voters had given them a clear mandate to carry on and there was a lot of work to do, while the Council faced the most difficult financial position ever. They would do what they could to help the most vulnerable in the community,protect jobs, and work towards the increased housing targets and school places.

In relation to Chiswick, he said there had been high hopes for Labour and there had been great team work. The party had picked up two seats in the borough. There were only a few hundred votes between Labour and the Conservatives in Chiswick, he said.

MP Ruth Cadbury said she believed the Labour vote in Chiswick was clearly growing.The margin of the Conservative Party in all three wards was closing in. She thanked all those who had worked so hard on the campaign and on the day of the count.

The Chairman of the Brentford & Isleworth Conservative Association, Julian Tanner, said: "The elections in Chiswick of Conservative Councillors across all wards was based on both national and local issues. At a local level, residents are angry about the poor state of our streets and the deterioration of council services despite repeated increases in council tax.

"There was also total rejection of the planned cycle superhighway down Chiswick High Road and we hope that Hounslow Council and TfL will now listen to the voters of Chiswick and re-route the scheme. At a national level there was serious concern on the doorstep about the Marxist beliefs of Corbyn and McDonnell and the threat that poses to our country.

"Chiswick now has a new team of energetic and intelligent Conservative Councillors that will hold Labour to account on the delivery of services to residents while ensuring that tax payers get value for money."

The Green Party said: " We are grateful to Hounslow's voters for their tremendous support at the local elections on 3rd May 2018. With 15,599 votes compared to 8,336 votes in 2014, the Greens polled 7,263 more votes than ever before in a Hounslow council election."

Hounslow Green Party stood 57 candidates, three in every ward apart from Turnham Green. The Party is unhappy about the 'first past the post system' which they say is unfair to smaller parties.

"Once again, the Greens lost out because of the unfair “First Past the Post” electoral system. It took 2,112 votes to elect each Labour Councillor, 6,365 each Conservative Councillor but with 15,599 votes the Green Party is not allowed even one voice in Hounslow's Council Chamber. With proportional representation, the Greens should have had 4 councillors."

The big disappointment for the opposition was in Osterley and Spring Grove where it was hoped that long serving Councillor Sheila O'Reilly would be re-elected. However, although she attracted a considerable personal vote the three Labour candidates won their seats by a substantial margin.

Wards in which the opposition was hoping to make up ground such as Hounslow South also was held by Labour with a sizeable majority.

May 5, 2018