Results and comments from reliable sources are coming in as the selection of Labour candidates for the May 2026 council election are announced in letters to candidates. One insider said, 'Half of the left councillors have been deselected'. The selections were made by the London region of the Labour Party rather than local Labour Party members.
Two high-profile de-selections were the Labour Group whip Cllr Iman Ahmadi Moghaddam and Cabinet meber Harbi Farah. Cllr Jumbo Chan, an NEU member and backer of anti-academisation campaigns is another casualty along with Cllr Tony Ethapemi (Stonebridge) and Cllr Erica Gbajumo (Brondesbury Park).
One disappointed candidate commiserated with another saying, 'Don't tak it to heart. The selection process was as corrupt as it's ever been. A pity because it looked hopeful for an even playing field this time, but not to be.'
I will update this blog post as more results and reactions come in.
Further deselections;
Cllr Rita Begum
Cllr Rajan-Seelan
Cllr Diana Collymore
112 comments:
People that aspire to actually serve their community - as opposed to being in politics for self-interest - would do well to emulate the independents of Frome Council in Somerset.
Independent candidates can organise themselves as independents did in Ealing in the last local elections, developing a shared vision and manifesto for Brent.
At least this way, we can have local representation in which candidates can be held to account democratically, instead of the electorate having candidates foisted on us by some faceless, unaccountable party machine with its own agenda.
.
Where/when are the Pride of Brent awards - the editor of this blog should be nominated for it! Another important article on this blog! Will be interesting to see if any other cabinet members are affected, but it will be nice to see some fresh new councillors who will create meaningful change at the next election
Looks like all Butt's family connections were all reselected. What a surprise.
The end of local democracy I fear
I am one of the cllrs de-selected. I was de-selected because I spoke out about Gaza. It's sad.
Is there a list anywhere of deselected and new?
Not that I know of. The above details are from a usually reliable source but not confirmed officially.
Awful and undemocratic stitch-up.
This is why Brent Labour Party was put in 'special measures' by the London Region Labour Party. Looks like they saw the dodgy tactics used by Butt and Family. What an embarrassment for Chairman Mo! He and his cronies have destroyed and embarrassed our borough!
The selection process was despicable, no change from previous years, butt intervening on his families behalf, minions lying about strong candidates challenging them,should be a judicial teview of the whole of brent labours tactics.
Janice Long has been deselected because she has been moved to unwinnable Kenton.
Mansoor Akram, one of the three selected to stand in Alperton ward, is apparently Cllr Mo Butt's cousin.
It looks like the NEC (guided by a couple of vengeful Brent party members) have kept many councillors who had been breaking the party rules over selections. My own councillor has enlisted Tory voters into the Labour Party, in the hope they would support them if we had had a normal selection process.
Not the end of democracy!
You can use your vote to vote for anyone else other than Labour candidates in the next local elections.
Local elections are about local issues not national issues! Who's going to do the very best for where you live?
We need a mixed council with proper scrutiny not another Labour dictatorship.
Join Corbyn’s new party and stand against them in your borough. Bettet still defect to corbyn now for tge publicity to help take the seat.
Brent’s red wedding!
The funeral of political careers
Here lies Iman Ahmadi Moghaddam
Councillor once, councillor no more
Mourn him not with flowers or banners
But with empty chairs and unraised hands
The Region wrote his ending
But history will write nothing
For nothing was written during his reign
A career of presence without imprint
A tenure of title without tale
Vote for anyone but Labour!
So Cllr Diana Colly, the deputy mayor who threatened to report the traffic warden to officials and said she would report him to immigration services, implying he had married someone to remain in the UK has been deselected.
What about Cllr Kathleen Fraser, the current deputy mayor who was also suspended. Do we know what she did and if she made the cut?
Yes on Brent Labour twitter
Councillor Tom Miller. Willesden Green. Labour has been axed.
Saqlain Choudry Prerna Thakkar
George Burn are Labour's new council candidates for Willesden Green
Same for ajmal akram moved from wembley hill to wembley park another lost seat, looks like mo intervening didnt help his brother in law
I don't think she would have been able to apply to be a candidate while suspended.
What made you choose independence rather than the other local parties?
Are they expecting to lose Wembley Park? lib dems winning there?
Time for Brent Electorate to deselect Labour full stop.
Because ive always represented residents views and needs rather than my own, i believed that was best done through labour at the time, so thats why itd be labour or independant labour
When is the latest Deputy Mayor going to be suspended. Lot of comments about him behind the scenes. He has been a naughty boy apparently.
Oh the truth comes out at last - "We (Labour) have had absent Councillors for 4 years"??? So why did Andrew Porri (who ever he is) not speak out before and only after he was not selected? What has happened Labour Party loyalty? Quite clearly Labour candidates only think of themselves and not our community. Time to kick them all out!
She was chopped the day before nominations closed. Another Dirty trick campaign by Tatler and co!
Say more
Is Prerna Thakkar related to Anita Thakkar selected to stand in Wembley Central?
Does labour have loyalty? How many good councillors are deselected
Brilliant comment
Prerna Thakkar is Anita Thakkar's daughter
Daughter
Stood in Alperton by-election
Prerna Thakkar is the one who lost the Alperton by election. Anita Thakkar is her mother. https://x.com/anitakthakkar2/status/1877423156526223464
Why has Rajan Seelan been deselected and Sonia Shah been kept on in my Wembley Central Ward? She is always abroad (yet collecting her allowances), never replies to emails and hardly ever attends meetings on our behalf.
By all means go and travel the world and earn big money abroad but don't pretend to be a Councillor when you are hardly ever around and doing very little for us Wembley Central residents.
Teo in Sudbury is anotjer strange one. She is employed as a ‘Campaign Organiser for the Labour party in Edinburgh, London and Aberdeen’ of The Labour Party
From Sep 2009 - Present 16 years and s Campaign Coordinator for Edinburgh North and Leith constituency. Complete antithesis of a local politician like Cllr Paul Lorber, who I hope wipes the floor with her
Cllr Jumbo Chan replaced by Fiona Mulaisho, who ran the labour front group “clean air for brent” ?
Reselected but all moved from safe seats to marginal or lost seats as far as i can see
Kath couldnt apply due to suspension,i hope she runs as an independant itll be an easy win
Andy only thinks of residents not party loyalty, i presume he didn't realise how bad it was until he went through the process
Sadly Queens Park continues to be cursed with ever self-promoting Neil Nerva. He’s absolutely useless - never replies to emails or follows through on anything. Many residents either don’t know who he is because he’s invisible, and if they do can’t stand him because he’s useless. Equally bad, Marc Harris who is so disdainful and dismissive of residents on the One Neighbourhood Group has replaced arrogant and self-serving Steve Crabb! Looking very much forward to the demise of Labour in Queens Park!
Tom Miller had already said that he had decided to stand down.
Undoubtably and yet his wife has been selected to stand in kingsbury
Sonia Shah has two addresses on her registry of interests:
HA0 Details may be requested by contacting the Head of Executive & Member Services Nil
HA3 Details may be requested by contacting the Head of Executive & Member Services
—
Landlord?
It's often the case when cllrs want to retire they agree to stand as 'paper' candidates in unwinnable wards.
Lib Dems used to run the council under Lorber. Think that Lib Dems ran by Anton would be a good choice next time to run the town hall.
That was in coalition with the Conservatives when despite being the largest party Labour, with no overall control, decided not to run the council. It took a while for the coalition to be formed and officers ran the council meanwhile (and quite enjoyed it!)
I heard Anton is coming back?! He was a force to be reckoned with, maybe he can work with others to defeat this Labour administration. He was so helpful in pursuing leasehold issues with my Housing Association in South Kilburn
Martin is partly correct - I became Leader of Brent Council in 2006 when we won 27 Council seats (32 was needed for a majority) we were the largest Party on the Council but just short of an overall majority.. The 1st issue we had to deal with was the Super Casino for Wembley promoted by the Labour Party. We ditched that idea. Then we had to deal with a dispute with the local NHS who wanted to shift £4 million of costs per year onto the Council in care for the elderly. The Labour Government took their side and it cost us. We also ditched Labour plans to close Libraries. The Labour Government was in a mess and imposing cuts on Local Government - the famous quote from Labour Chancellor Alistair Darling "the CUTs will be worse than under Thatcher" and they were.
Despite the problems caused by the Labour Government we were able to concentrate on bread and butter issues neglected for years by the previous Labour administration. Under a new Cleaning contract local streets were swept 3 times per week - none of this Labour non-sense of "intelligence led cleaning" or blue bags. Money was invested on road and pavement improvements and increases to Council Tax were kept to the minimum possible.
And YES Anton Georgiou would make a good Leader but talking about that is a bit premature as the local elections are still 8 months ago. The recent Alperton results when the Lib Dems won almost 50% of the vote and the Labour vote collapsed are a clear sign of the positive trend for the Liberal Democrats in Brent. The result in Camden where the Lib Dems won a Labour seat with 54% of the vote last week and the Labour vote almost halved continues that trend.
We take nothing for granted however. In a Democracy it is local people who decide. We know that divided Labour are in deep trouble and that we can win more seats but in the meantime we'll continue to work hard for local people we represent so that voters have a clear choice in May 2026.
Sorry, I should not have relied on my memory. Labour did not want to go into Coalition in 2006.
The Liberal Democrats gained 18 seats to leave no party with a majority on the council, but the Liberal Democrats became the largest party with 27 councillors. The Liberal Democrat gains were mainly at the expense of Labour, who suffered a net loss of 14 seats.
Following the election a coalition between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives took control of the council, with Liberal Democrat Paul Lorber becoming the leader of the council and Conservative Bob Blackman deputy leader.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Brent_London_Borough_Council_election
Anton lives in york hes not even in the picture no doubt never will be
What are they claiming Kath did? Surely she’s not going to hold her tongue now? She always used to be forthcoming
When will other parties provide their full list of candidates?
Hello Anonymous - you are half right ;) but I thought I’d set the record straight… I have been living in York. Whilst there I spent my time working in a homeless hostel and most recently working with refugees and asylum seekers as they look to settle into the UK. However, for various reasons, I am now back in Brent, living with family and very much looking forward to getting stuck into campaigning locally, as I have done since I was 18 years old. Brent deserves better than this shambolic, divided, out of touch Labour Council. Change is coming… :)
The reasons for resigning can’t have been that bad
Anton Georgiou has been away doing some amazing work in the community in York. It's fantastic that he has returned to Brent, having gained a great insight into homeless, asylum seekers and refugees. As someone who has served our community for so many years, the decision to go couldn't have been an easy one. I hope that Anton is successful in getting reelected. Since his return his presence can be felt.
Come the elections, we all need to get behind Antons reelection
As a long standing resident of Alperton who has seen the Labour Council with distain it is great to see a strong Lib Dem opposition being formed not only here but across Brent. I notice Anton’s name has cropped up several times - in my experience the most hands on and dedicated Councillor I’ve encountered. He has got under the skin of the Council leader and been verbally abused often by those wearing red favours, but it seems to have made him all the more determined to do by the right thing by the constituents. A massive seed change is required in 2026 across the Brent landscape - enough Labour smugness and more action.
The editor accepts letters, write one to us all about you
When I heard that Anton was back on the scene, it was like Christmas had come early. I personally noticed a big difference (not a good difference) when Anton left, but I sure know he is back now. Any issues I have get sorted ASAP, messages get answered within hours and not ignored. Myself and family welcome Anton back with open arms. Here’s is sorting out Alperton for the better.
What I like about the Lib Dem’s is that they have a common sense approach they realise that the majority of Alperton residents don’t want paan spitting and it is a very very small minority who spit everywhere and ruined the streets and the acknowledge the spitting is a problem. All the current council do is put up signs and hope for the best, no thinking out the box or registering it as a big concern. Likewise the LDs acknowledge the need for bins so people can dispose of their litter effectively. I hope when they campaign they encourage people to vote tactically, in certain wards it’s better to vote LDs and than Con - like people really are voting con for no reason even when their campaigners don’t even show up on the doorstep. If there is tactical voting, and the libdems can put a figure on how much flytipping has increased since labour came into power, residents will be able to do the math! Also let’s not forget the Greens were really helpful in the Alperton election where they stood down the candidate. If other parties and the greens again could work together, it would help other parties join the council and provide more scrutiny.
Hello, Tom here.
I can confirm that Pam is correct above, and that whoever posted this is wrong.
I have been weighing up whether to re-stand for a couple of years and decided not to, largely for family reasons.
But I am unhappy with the politics of this. Members have been denied any voice at all. But it's Labour members who keep the party running. Labour is happy to take members' membership money every month, but will sometimes prevent members getting any voice at all.
That's simply not a fair deal.
As a result we have lost some hard working and thoughtful colleagues. Not all
How often do you contact a cllr.
Hopefully this will only help the Lib Dems even more. Need Anton and his team to get back in action.
Doesn't matter how often you contact a Cllr, they should have the courtesy to respond.
Please don't assume that you know what someone is going through.
Why no mention of the elephant in the room. In summer 2026 a large majority of Labour and Conservative councillors will be unseated by the Reform tsunami. Party apparatchiks are moving favoured officials from the wider UK wards into safe London wards like Brent to keep them in power.
I contact them enough to know that when I do thing get sorted and not ignored
Surely the many differing reasons you gave for leaving and calling a by election only 7 months ago cant have just disappeared in such a short time if genuine will you be paying the residents back for the by election, as it seems so unnecessary now, but i presume you haven't been back long enough to stand in 2026 so thats a saving
Lucky you - they dont even have the courtesy to respond to others :(
Litter bins on our residential streets were removed by our Labour run Brent Council to save just £53K per year = about 20p per Brent resident per year!
Our same Labour run Brent Council gave £17.8million of our Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) money (money paid by developers to be spent on vital local projects when they build housing developments) back to multi-billion pound developer Quintain for their vanity project steps outside Wembley Stadium - Quintain had already costed and budgeted for these steps out of their own funding.
That £17.8 million of our CIL money could have paid for 335 years of street bins on our residential roads or it could have paid for lots of other worth while community projects.
It should not have been spent on the steps outside the stadium which only benefit stadium visitors - most local people cannot even afford to attend stadium events.
Please remember poor decisions like this when voting in the next local elections.
"Most local people cannot even afford to attend stadium events." Genuine question: does that say more about them and their ambition or the "cost of living crisis" which seems to be referred to less and less these days. Perhaps gentrification is needed to truly pull some parts of Brent up to align better with the wealthier areas. There are no litter bins in Japan, sometimes it's not the system but the PEOPLE that are the problem, and those poor behaviours don't change quickly.
Here here - what a load of theatrics for nothing.
"Elephant" Do you mean 'Donkey'?
FACTS - real VOTES versus fiction:
Alperton by election: Lib Dems 49% (Winners) - Reform 8% (Losers)
West Hampstead (next door Camden) by election in a Labour held ward a week ago: Lib Dems 54% (Winners) - Reform 7% (Losers).
It is fairly obvious that is the Liberal Democrats who can beat Labour across Brent.
I want to add as a Brent resident off 30years, I have only seen the labour councillors at election time. When I reached out to them with issues they were not available, did not have the courtesy to reply to me emails. Anton was at the end of a phone that he answered with a can do attitude, he was able to resolve my issues. He has a very pleasant manner and is approachable, unlike Labour. Politicians are known to exaggerate, Anton was and is always upfront and honest. When he left Alperton it was a difficult decision and one he did not make lightly. He is now back and committed to making a difference to the Alperton community, I will be supporting him 100%. Roll on elections and let's put Lib Dem in charge and make a difference to our lives.
Anton has always been really passionate about helping people and trying to make a difference in the community. Even when I didn’t always agree with him, you could see how much he cared. He took on loads of casework as a councillor and wasn’t afraid to challenge the leadership. It is in part because of him that the SCIL money is now going into local projects across Brent, he pushed hard for step-free access in Alperton, he has always spoken up about the need for more social housing the borough not just unaffordable flats and even more student accommodation.
It was awful when he and his family had to go through threats from a stalker, death threats, to the point where the police told him to move for his own safety. Nobody should have to face that just for being a councillor.
When he left he didn’t stop giving back. He worked in a homeless hostel, and supporting refugees and asylum seekers. Anton isn’t in it for himself, he cares.
Now he’s back in Brent, and I’m not from the same political party as him but it is good news, I’m glad he felt able to return. Straight away he is out there again, helping residents, doing casework, delivering leaflets and supporting local groups. Whatever party you’re from, you can’t say he doesn’t care. Brent needs people like Anton to hold the council to account, and he’s really missed.
I don’t really understand why people are questioning why he’s back. This is his home. His family are here and if he feels ready to serve again then let the voters decide, I say!
Local people are having to pay higher bills, higher council taxes, higher fares, higher food prices - where is the spare cash to attend stadium events???
He only left his role earlier this year, at a cost to the tax payer too. Very difficult to comprehend how anything much would've changed in that regard in such a short amount of time.
People are more concerned about why he left causing a pointless by election, accepted if he has trouble holding down a job then he couldn't help but return, but the cost still needs to be accounted for.
And that won't change, so aspiration has to!
“My message to Labour is very clear: we are not here to be disappointed by you. We are not here to be concerned by you. We are here to REPLACE you.” - Zack Polanski, Leader of The Green Party
Interesting comment - only those who can't hold down a full time job could possibly have the freedom of being at the beck and call of residents, and I'm not convinced this should be as celebrated as it seems to be.
It’s a bit bizarre to be contacting a councillor all the time
Dear Cllr Tom, what were the problems in Brent that led to the region having to take over? The stories from members is they were upset that Cllrs were gaming the membership and as such the selection process locally was not fair. How would the party otherwise address this issue?
And how does aspiration change when people are losing jobs because employers are hit with extra national insurance payments and taxes???
Councillor's have lives outside of the role and residents should absolutely respect boundaries. It's healthy for all concerned.
No, just a comment on the fact in one of his many reasons for leaving he had found a job he wanted, yet it seems to have only lasted about 6 months
Very true. Surely one reason for leaving was not being selected to stand as GLA or MP candidate.
General opinion is that you were deselected because you did no work
He cant stand till 2030 needs to be a resident for 12 months.
I am voting for Anton in Alperton. Wonderful activist.
Fake news. Anton meets the necessary requirements to stand as per the Electoral Commission guidelines. You can’t stop him. The voters will decide.
The trolls are out in force. I wonder why they fear Anton returning and the clear Lib Dem resurgence locally. Perhaps they know their time is up.
I am looking forward to voting for Anton in Wembley Central 😉
Even when you invite our councillors to attend community fun events they don't even have the courtesy to respond 😞
At this stage it's Anton trolling residents.
Who have they cut? Iman Ahmadi Moghaddam, Harbi Farah, Jumbo Chan, Tony Ethapemi, Erica Gbajum, Rita Begum, Rajan-Seelan, Diana Collymore. Councillors who spoke out on Gaza, who stood with workers, who actually fought for their communities. And who stays? Butt’s loyalists, family connections and machine picks who will not cause trouble.
We all know what is going on. If you challenge the line on Palestine, you are out. If you push too hard for real community issues, you are out. If you are Black or brown and speak up, you are out. Meanwhile white loyalists who signed the same statements are left untouched. It is the same treatment Diane Abbott has faced her whole career. Punished not for failure but for refusing to stay silent.
So what do we do? We stop begging Labour to represent us and start representing ourselves. The councillors who have been pushed out can stand as independents. They can join new parties. They can build coalitions like Frome did, where residents came together outside of the old machine and won.
And residents can play their part too. Next May, do not accept the names the Labour machine puts in front of you. Vote for independents who are accountable to their communities. Vote Green. Vote Lib Dem. Vote for whoever is prepared to stand with you and not bow to Starmer’s London loyalists. Or better yet, stand yourself.
Labour in Brent has forgotten who it serves. They think they can cut out half their left flank and still own your vote. Prove them wrong. Show them Brent cannot be dictated to from above. Show them that when they silence councillors, the people will speak even louder.
The purge is here, but so is the fightback. Stand with independents. Stand with new parties. Stand with your community. Brent deserves better.
Check yourself krupar and milli and lot more arent white but not removed, what dies that do for your racist theories
Too many residents have the audacity to cross boundaries
Krupa and Mili are right-wing and liked by Tatler?
If the councillors deselected properly stood up to Butt perhaps some of the poor decisions made by our current Brent Council would not gave got voted through?
Isn't there is still time for them to oust him as Leader before May 2026 elections?
Theyd never speak up against him everyone voted his way every time, thats much mote likely why they were deselected and his family moved to marginals, his support base is broken ready to replace him next year.
The problem wasn't Butt, it is the Starmerites like Tower Block Tatler, she has a history of this, as in Lieicester deselections via her CIB methodology.
What do you propose the government do?
Can’t have it both ways!
So inviting local councillors to a local community event is crossing boundaries???
Butt has the final say on everything at Brent Council.
Boost the economy, create more jobs by supporting businesses and get all those who choose not to work out earning and paying tax rather than sitting back claiming benefits.
Not true was way before then
Why can't they force a no confidence vote now and get him out before the next election in May? He was the one who got the previous Leader out.
Post a Comment