Harefield Gazette

Labour holds Hounslow with 52 seats and prepares to elect new leader

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THE Labour Party has retained control of Hounslow – fending off competitio­n to win 52 seats, giving them a majority of 42. Across the borough, 169 candidates from the four main parties and three independen­ts battled it out.

The Labour Party remains in overall control of the council, with 52 councillor­s, out of a total of 62 seats in 22 wards. The Conservati­ve party won 10 seats. The turnout was 33.6 per cent. Labour faced competitio­n from the Conservati­ves, who put forward 61 candidates, as well as the Green and Liberal Democrat parties, who put forward 26 and 20 candidates respective­ly.

All eyes in the borough will now be on who Labour choose to pick as the new leader of the council, after incumbent Steve Curran stepped down ahead of the elections due to ill health.

Going to the polls, issues at the forefront of voters’ minds included how to tackle the high levels of crime and fly tipping in the borough, as well as how to tackle the shortage of social housing.

As a borough, Hounslow was hit particular­ly hard by the pandemic, with many residents employed at Heathrow Airport made redundant or put on furlough as traffic at the airport ground to a halt.

 ?? ?? Hounslow Civic Centre
Hounslow Civic Centre

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