Labour's Chiswick Candidate Defects to the Tories

Vickram Grewal had been reportedly chosen to stand in Homefields ward

Cllr Ron Mushiso (left) with his new party colleague Cllr Vickram Grewal (right)

November 16, 2025

The Conservative party in Hounslow is celebrating a major coup after announcing the defection of a senior Labour councillor.

Vickram Grewal, who currently represents Cranford, had reportedly been selected to contest Chiswick Homefields ward for Labour but this Saturday (15 November) he announced that he had left the party to join the Conservatives citing both national and local financial mismanagement as his reason for switching.

Despite a strong record for case work, he had been asked by the party leadership to give up the relatively safe seat which he had held since 2018 to represent the party in a ward which has traditionally voted Conservative.

Cllr Grewal has served as Cabinet Assistant for Education, Chair of the Housing and Environment Scrutiny Committee, and as a long-standing member of the council’s Licensing Committee as well as being a member of the Fabian Society.

He works in financial services and is the former Secretary of Labour in the City and he says that is fiscal concerns which are the main reason for his defection. He states, "Hounslow Labour has driven our borough to the brink. They’ve created a £28.3 million budget black hole and gambled £230 million 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.

"Nationally, the Labour Government has overseen the biggest tax rise in more than 30 years and borrowing is out of control. 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.

"The Conservative Party is the only party serious about fixing Labour’s broken economy, both locally and nationally. I’ve been genuinely impressed by Kemi Badenoch’s leadership and the renewal she is driving across the party, as well as the tireless dedication shown by our local Conservative councillors. I want to secure a better future for my young family and for the residents and businesses I represent. That’s why the Conservative Party is my natural home.

"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.

"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 Grewal joins his new party colleagues in a Chiswick pub

Peter Thompson, Leader of the Conservative Group on Hounslow Council, said, "A very warm welcome to Cllr Vickram Grewal, a dedicated and talented councillor who has taken a principled stand against Labour’s mismanagement of our borough. I look forward to working with him to support residents and businesses across Hounslow."

Cllr Grewal was also welcomed by Kevin Hollinrake MP, Chairman of the Conservative Party and Gareth Bacon MP, Shadow Minister for London.

Cllr Jack Emsley, former councillor Mike Denniss and Linden Grigg were chosen earlier this year to stand in Chiswick Homefields for the Conservatives following the retirement of veteran councillors, John Todd and Gerald McGregor. Cllr Grewal currently describes himself as the Conservative councillor for Cranford on his social media bio. When asked which ward he would represent at the next election, the local Conservative party said that would be subject to a democractic selection process.

The move represents some payback for Labour's successful courting of Chiswick Gunnersbury councillor Ranjit Gill who made the opposite switch back in May. He has recently been confirmed as the Labour candidate for Osterley and Spring Grove.

We have also asked the Labour Party in Hounslow for comment.