Background
History
The thirty-two London boroughs were established in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. They are the principal authorities in Greater London and have responsibilities including education, housing, planning, highways, social services, libraries, recreation, waste, environmental health and revenue collection. Some of the powers are shared with the Greater London Authority, which also manages passenger transport, police and fire.[1]
Since its formation, Hounslow has generally been under Labour control, apart from a period from 1968–1971 when the Conservative Party held a majority of the seats and a period from 2006–2010 when no party had an overall majority of seats. Labour regained control of the council in the 2010 election, when they won 35 seats with 35.2% of the vote and the Conservatives won 25 seats with 32.0% of the vote. No Liberal Democrats, independents and residents' group councillors were elected in 2010, 2014 or 2018. In the 2018 Hounslow London Borough Council election, Labour extended its majority to win 51 seats with 54.1% of the vote, while the Conservatives won the remaining 9 seats, all in Chiswick, with 28.8% of the vote across the borough. The Liberal Democrats won 8.1% of the vote and the Green Party won 7.8% of the vote, but neither party won any seats.[2]
Council term
A Labour councillor for Heston West, Rajinder Bath, died in June 2019. He had been first elected in 1990 and had served as mayor in 1998.[3] The former council leader and sitting Labour councillor for the Feltham North ward, John Chatt, died in August 2019. He had served as a councillor for twenty-nine years.[4] By-elections to fill both seats were held on 12 December 2019 to coincide with the 2019 general election. Bath's seat of Heston West was won by the Labour candidate Balraj Sarai, while the Conservative Party candidate Kuldeep Tak gained Chatt's seat in Feltham North.[5] A Labour councillor for Hounslow Heath, Hina Kiani, resigned in July 2020 for work reasons.[6] The Labour councillor for Cranford ward, Poonam Dhillon died in January 2021. She had represented the ward since 2006–2014 and was re-elected in 2018.[7] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, by-elections for both seats were delayed until 6 May 2021, alongside the 2021 London mayoral election and the London Assembly election. Hounslow Heath was held for Labour by Madeeha Asim, while Cranford ward was held for Labour by Devina Ram, with the Conservatives coming in second place in both wards.[8]
As with most London boroughs, Hounslow elected its councillors under new boundaries decided by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, which it produced after a period of consultation. The number of councillors rose to 62, an increase from the previous 60, across eighteen three-councillor wards and four two-councillor wards.[9]
