Hounslow Council Moves to No Overall Control
Whip taken from Labour councillor who is facing fraud charges
Cllr Ahtwal (second from left) campaigning with Ruth Cadbury before this year's elections. Picture: Facebook
October 6, 2026
The Labour party has technically lost overall control of the Hounslow Council after the whip was taken away from one of its councillors.
Councillor Gurbachan Athwal was arrested and charged with fraud by abuse of position on Friday, September 25. He is due to appear before Uxbridge Magistrates Court on October 27. The charges relate to his time as treasurer for the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall charity.
In a statement, Cllr Gurbachan Athwal said: “These allegations are part of a concerted effort to defame me. I am participating fully in the process of clearing my name.
“To avoid any unwanted distraction, however, I fully accept the decision taken by the Labour Party for an administrative suspension for the duration of this process.
“I will continue to support the Labour Party and local Labour Administration. I will continue to fulfil my council duties and do my utmost to serve the local community.”
Opposition councillors began calling last week on Councillor Shantanu Rajawat, the Leader of Hounslow Council, to withdraw the whip from Cllr Athwal pending the outcome of his case. Hounslow Labour now holds 31 out of 62 seats – meaning the group will govern without a majority.
Cllr Jack Emsley, Leader of the Hounslow Conservatives says that the council must now pause constitutional changes as it is a minority administration. He said: “Given the serious nature of the charges, it is right that Cllr Athwal has finally lost the Labour whip whilst the court case is ongoing.
“Now that the council has tipped into no overall control, it is clear that Labour has no mandate to unilaterally change the council’s constitution to reduce scrutiny of what is now a minority administration, and they should now pause their attempts to do so.”
Cllr Guy Lambert, of the Green party, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that losing the whip will not stop Cllr Athwal from propping up the administration. He said: “The Green Party does not support finding Councillors (or anyone else) guilty prior to a trial.
“If Cllr Athwal is found guilty of fraud, he should he immediately dismissed and removed from the council irrespective of any appeal he may lodge. Withdrawal of the whip is not sufficient and would not stop him propping up the current failing regime.
“A by-election should be called immediately… residents will make the decision about who should replace him should the court decide he is guilty.”
In the May local elections, Cllr Athwal secured one of the seats in his ward but tied second place with his Labour colleague Cllr Fiza Ahmed behind Cllr Jasmine Deol of the Green Party. Another Labour party candidate narrowly missed out on a seat.
Hounslow Labour has not made a public comment about the charges facing Cllr Athwal since he was charged ten days ago despite our requests for a statement. A group spokesperson says that the group does not comment on internal party matters.
A no overall control (NOC) council is one in which no single party has a majority of the seats on the council. Following the local elections in May 2026, it was the most common mode of political control across councils in England, with 42 per cent lacking a one party majority.
Some councils will adopt a minority administration, where one party – typically the largest party – governs without a controlling majority. For this to work, the governing party is forced to win over other parties or councillors in order to pass a budget and so on.
Elsewhere, coalitions are formed, where councillors from different parties work together to govern the council. Coalitions are not restricted in the number of participating groups, occasionally resulting in multi-party or ‘rainbow’ administrations – one example being Arun District Council, where Liberal Democrat, Labour, Green, and Independent members share governance.
In Hounslow’s instance, the council would fall to NOC, however it is likely Labour would continue to govern and pass motions or resolutions – although if all non-Labour councillors united against any proposals it would become more difficult, creating a 31-31 draw.
The Mayor, elected by council, would in this case have a second casting vote and alongside the administration.
Philip James Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |