• Implement an immediate moratorium on the expansion of the Waymo pilot until a transparent safety audit is completed.
•
Publish a full log of all safety breaches, "near misses", and traffic
violations involving autonomous vehicles in London to date.
Why is this important?
Over the last few weeks, American company WAYMO has been testing autonomous vehicles in Harlesden and across London. On 22 April, a WAYMO vehicle drove through a live police cordon on Harlesden High Street while officers were investigating a double stabbing.
We,
the undersigned, call on the Mayor of London and Transport for London
(TfL) to immediately suspend the trial and roll out of Waymo autonomous
vehicles on London’s streets. We further request a police investigation
into near misses and other incidents where public safety was at risk.
REASONS FOR THIS PETITION
The
current rollout of Waymo autonomous vehicles (AVs) across London, and
specifically within the Harlesden area, is proceeding without adequate
democratic oversight or proven safety protocols for complex urban
environments. Our concerns are based on the following:
1. Breach of Police Cordons: Footage has emerged of a Waymo vehicle in Harlesden breaching a live police line.
Such actions constitute "wilful obstruction" of the police. If a driver
of a regular vehicle had committed this act, they would likely be under
investigation and could face criminal prosecution. We cannot allow a
"two-tier" justice system where corporate AI is exempt from the laws
that govern Londoners.
2. Unresolved Safety Risks:
Autonomous vehicles are struggling to navigate the "edge cases" of
London’s busy streets, including responding to emergency sirens,
physical police barriers, and the unpredictable movements of pedestrians
and cyclists in high-density areas like Harlesden.
3. Lack of Community Consent:
Residents in Brent have not been adequately consulted on this trial.
Public streets are being treated as a laboratory for unproven technology
without a clear framework for liability when things go wrong.
4. Extra traffic on our roads:
if Waymo or any other autonomous vehicles are allowed on the streets of
London, that will lead to extra traffic on our roads. It will further
compromise the Mayor of London's traffic reduction aims, led by Sadiq
Khan, focus on reducing overall traffic volumes by 10-15% by 2041 and
cutting car kilometres by 27% by 2030 to meet Net Zero and health
targets. We need more accessible and affordable public transport,
instead of more cars on our roads.
5. Vision Zero Compromise :
The Mayor’s "Vision Zero" strategy aims to eliminate road danger.
Introducing vehicles that fail to recognise and respect police cordons
is a direct contradiction of this safety goal.
Discussing the Waymo issues in Harlesden Town Centre
The London Mayor's Office has launched a short investigation (one month) on the issue of autonomous vehicles in London. These have been in the news recently with a demonstration in Harlesden over Waymo vehicles supported by Brent Green Party, the App Drivers and Couriers Union and Pull the Plug.
The campaign is being spearheaded by Councillor Amandine Alexandre, who represents Harlesden, alongside Councillor Suzanne Gallagher, who represents Kilburn.
They were joined byby Councillor Stephen Malonga from Kilburn and Ahmed Ahmed, who recently stood for election in Harlesden.
The campaign is growing rapidly across the capital. From safety incidents to the massive threat that unregulated corporate automation poses to the livelihoods of London’s 105,000 private hire drivers, they are refusing to accept a tech first, people last experiment.
They are demanding that the Mayor of London puts a pause on the rollout until transparent safety standards and strict protections for workers are guaranteed.
Investigation aims and objectives (Terms of Reference)
Several trials of autonomous passenger vehicles (more commonly known
as driverless taxis or robotaxis) are underway in London in 2026, with
operators aiming to launch commercial services by the end of the year.
In this investigation, the Committee will:
Explore whether and how autonomous passenger vehicles could be
licenced for commercial operations in London, and what role the Mayor
and TfL should play in this.
Understand the impact of autonomous passenger vehicles, particularly
in regard to employment in the taxi and wider private hire vehicle
sectors, interactions with other road users and the ambitions in the
Mayor’s Transport Strategy, including ‘Vision Zero’, a traffic reduction
of between 10 to 15 per cent, and the target for 80 per cent of all
trips to be made by active modes or public transport.
Key issues
In June 2025, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that it
would fast-track “small scale ‘taxi- and bus-like’ services without a
safety driver” to take place in spring 2026 before a wider potential
roll out in 2027. Several companies, including Uber and UK company
Wayve, are seeking to obtain regulatory approval to transport passengers
in automated vehicles in London as soon as this year.
Waymo, an Alphabet-owned company, which is also seeking approval for
passenger trials, began testing on London roads without passengers and
with a driver at the wheel this year. Its current fleet comprises 24
vehicles. Other operators have not confirmed how many vehicles they are
planning to deploy.
Autonomous passenger vehicles are a common sight in some US cities.
Waymo has reported that it is currently providing approximately 500,000
paid rides every week, using over 3,000 vehicles deployed across ten US
cities. The company’s average weekly trips have grown tenfold over the
last two years. Estimates from 2025 suggest that Waymo accounts for
around one in four ride-hailing trips in San Francisco, surpassing the
market share of Uber and Lyft.
Research carried out by automotive data firm HPI found that while
Londoners were the most trusting of self-driving technology of
respondents from all UK regions, its survey of over 2,000 UK adults
found that 79 per cent of Londoners would not trust a driverless car or
feel comfortable about travelling in one, while only 21 per cent of
Londoners would. The results also showed that 35 per cent of all those
surveyed had concerns about the reliability of the technology.
Some experts have also raised concerns around entrusting key
elements of London’s transport system to private companies, resulting
‘proprietary lock-in’, whereby transport in a city could become overly
dependent on (in some cases foreign) private companies. The Government
in 2022 found that CAVs are attractive targets for cyber attacks and
that ensuring cyber security is essential when developing them. There is
a risk of terrorist attacks causing large-scale chaos across the
transport network and cyber attacks targeting a vehicle’s hardware with
the aim of disabling it until a ransom is paid.
Key questions
Who is responsible for licensing autonomous passenger vehicles in London and what role do the Mayor and TfL play in this?
How close are commercial operators to deploying autonomous passenger vehicles for hire in London?
Are autonomous passenger vehicles compatible with London’s strategic transport goals in the Mayor’s Transport Strategy?
What are the principal risks associated with autonomous passenger vehicles in London, and can they be mitigated?
To what extent are autonomous passenger vehicles accessible to all Londoners?
Are there any benefits that autonomous passenger vehicles could
offer in London, and how likely are those benefits to be realised in
London?
What lessons can London learn from trials and deployments elsewhere?
What role should TfL and the Mayor play in the development and oversight of autonomous passenger vehicles?
What do Londoners think about autonomous passenger vehicles?
1. Call for Evidence
As part of this investigation, the Committee has launched a Call for Evidence, inviting those with knowledge of this topic to respond.
If you are responding on behalf of an organisation, in a
professional capacity, or have knowledge of this topic, please send your
submissions to scrutiny@london.gov.uk. Please use ‘Transport Committee call for evidence’ as the subject title.
Cllr Gwen Grahl, newly elected deputy leader of Brent Labour Group posted the following on Twitter earlier this evening, writing in a personal capacity.
I have today written to Labour’s NEC regarding advice received on forming an administration at Brent Council.
Labour Groups should be trusted to make political decisions in the best interest of their residents.
Following the post Jake Rubin, Brent Cabinet Member for Communities, Children's Services, Employment and Climate Action tweeted his support:
I agree with this - I simply cannot
understand why Labour’s NEC prevented Brent Labour Group from formal or
informal agreements with the Green group in Brent, when the consequences for
this were obvious
One month after an incident in Harlesden, the mobilisation
against Autonomous Vehicles is growing across the capital.
On Friday 22 May, a collective of concerned residents and
workers will gather on Harlesden High Street by the Jubilee Clock at 5pm to mark
a new stage in the campaign SAY NO TO WAYMO launched less than a month ago by
two local mums, who became Green Party councillors on May 7th.
Members of ADCU (App Drivers and Couriers Union), campaigners
of Pull the Plug
- a movement to give ordinary people a say on how AI is tested and
implemented.Harlesden residents will
gather to make their voices heard and say No to WAYMO.
WAYMO, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc - Google’s parent
company, has been testing its robotaxis in the north west London neighbourhood
of Harlesden and Stonebridge since the opening of its operations hub in Park
Royal in April - and the presence of the oversized cars hasn’t gone unnoticed,
particularly since April 22nd. On that day, a WAYMO AV breached a police line
on Harlesden High Street. The incident was filmed by a bystander and went viral
on social media, alerting thousands of Londoners to the presence of robotaxis
in the capital.
In media reports, WAYMO claimed that the car was operating
in manual mode “with a validation driver in full control” but the Harlesden
incident - which has been classified as an AI incident by the OECD- was
enough for Amandine Alexandre and Suzanne Gallagher, then Green Party
candidates for the local elections, to do some research. They promptly decided
to start a petition asking the Mayor of London to put the WAYMO’s
trial on pause and, since then, have been on a mission to inform
fellow Londoners about the risks entailed by the rollout of AV’s on our
streets..
Amandine Alexandre, Green Party Councillor in Harlesden and
Kensal Green, said:
The more we learn about those AI-powered vehicles and
the more we are convinced that Londoners have nothing to gain from the
introduction of robotaxis. Those oversized vehicles are clogging up our
roads, collecting tons of energy consuming data and taking us one step closer
to a future where human interactions become the exception rather than a rule.
For London’s estimated 150 000 private hire drivers, WAYMO
is also a threat to their livelihoods as the AV company said earlier this year
that they were aiming at launching a fully commercial service in London in
September. “The fear of losing their income is a constant and growing worry at
the back of drivers’ minds”, the App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU) said.
Cristina-Georgiana Ionitescu, General Secretary of the ADCU,
added:
London
cannot afford a tech-first, people-last experiment. Any move toward automation must
start with rigorous, transparent safety standards, real-world environmental
safeguards that reduce total vehicle miles, and protections against oversupply.
Most importantly, there must be a just transition for drivers. That means legally
enforceable job security, funded retraining, income guarantees during
changeover, and a seat at the table for worker-led unions. Our message is
simple: no rollout without public consent. And no future that leaves drivers
behind.
Suzanne Gallagher, Green Party Councillor for Kilburn,
concluded:
We are not against innovation that improves our lives and our
communities, but we are fiercely opposed to our city being used as a testing
ground for Silicon Valley experiments. Earlier this year, New York paused
WAYMO's permits and halted further driverless trials. It is time for Mayor
Sadiq Khan to follow the lead of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and prioritise
Londoners’ jobs and public safety over Big Tech’s extractive business model.
This evening the Green Group proposed an amendment to the constitution to adopt a new scrutiny committee in Brent.
Scrutiny is one of the vital checks and balances in local government, where Cllrs hold officers and cabinet members to account and work to get the best outcomes for residents.
London boroughs typically have three to five. Brent has two. This is not enough time to engage properly with all the important work that the Council does.
Housing is under scrutinised, and is an area where numerous external bodies have called for change. Brent spends £100K a day on temporary accommodation a day. The Regulator of Social Housing gave Brent a ‘serious failings’ grade, and complaints upheld by the local government and social care ombudsman have doubled.
This new housing scrutiny committee will give adequate time and attention to this vital area in Brent’s remint. It was a key item in our manifesto.
We are delighted to have received unanimous support from all parties in approving this amendment and we hope that this signals a desire for cross-party collaboration in the best interests of all our residents.
Despite the stich-up we saw this evening where the Conservatives did a deal with Labour to support their minority administration, multi-party politics in Brent is here to stay. Voters are moving away from the two-party system and all four parties in Brent are going to have to collaborate, seek consensus and work together for better outcomes for residents.
The proposal will be taken away by officers who will work on plans for its implementation to be brought back to the July Council for consideration,
Cllr Mistry, Deputy Mayor (Conservative) on the left, Cllr Agha, Mayor (Labour) on the right
A minority Labour administration led once again by Muhammed Butt, was installed this evening, with the help of an 'arrangement' with the Conservative Party. The arrangement saw the Conservatives installed as the official Opposition (with appropriate allowances), despite the Lib Dems having the same number of seats; being given both Scrutiny chair positions (with appropriate allowances) and the position of Deputy Mayor.
Brent Green Party issued the following statement:
On May 7thresidents gave a resounding response to the
question of the type of leadership they want in Brent. Labour lost twenty four
seats and their control of the Council, securing under thirty percent of the
popular vote. This is not a mandate to continue the status quo. Brent voted
overwhelmingly for change.
Muhammed Butt has been
leader of Brent Council for fourteen years. In any other circumstance, a
political leader who led one’s party to such defeat after such long tenure
would resign and pass the mantle on to a new leader.
This evening, enabled by a
deal with the Conservative Party, instead of change Brent residents have been
given more of the same – a minority-led Labour administration under Muhammed
Butt – rather than the collaborative model of governance they voted for.
This is not the transformation
in the way decisions are made in Brent that residents voted for. This does not
signify the cultural shift for cross-party collaboration, scrutiny, and
accountability that Brent Green Party had hoped for, and indeed that we believe
Brent needs.
We
have been open to a formal arrangement with Labour with policy commitments and
governance changes, but their national party would rather they strike a deal
with the Conservative Party than the Green Party, ignoring the progressive
values of its supporters.
What
further sign could there be of the moral decay within the Labour Party?
Multi-party politics in Brent is here to stay. Voters
are moving away from the two-party system and all four parties in Brent are
going to have to collaborate, seek consensus and work together for better
outcomes for residents.
More
people voted for the Green Party in Brent than ever before, and our role here
on Brent Council is vital. Opposition councillors are essential in keeping this
new administration in check, and standing up for democratic decision-making and
justice for Brent residents. We are not here to play political games, but to
work hard to protect local services and public spaces, stand up for local
communities against extractive industries, and protect our natural environment.
We
are disappointed in today’s outcome for Brent’s residents, and what this means
for democracy – but we remain ready to collaborate with anyone who shares our
principles of environmental and social justice and a commitment to the best
outcome for residents, rather than for a particular political party.
“We are aware of the deeply
concerning incidents that have taken place across northwest London in
recent days, including an attempted arson attack at Kenton United
Synagogue overnight. I know this will be causing understandable anxiety
and distress for our Jewish residents and the wider community here in
Brent.
I’d like to thank
the Metropolitan Police and London Fire Brigade for responding at pace,
and for deploying additional resources to the area while they carry out
their investigations. We will continue to work closely with the police
and our community partners across the coming days, and I would urge
anyone with information to come forward and report it.
There
is absolutely no place in Brent – or anywhere – for hate, antisemitism,
or violence of any kind. We stand in full solidarity with our Jewish
communities and all those affected. Brent is proud to be a diverse and
united borough, and we will not tolerate hate from those who seek to
divide us.”
From Brent Green Party
The attempted arson attack at Kenton United Synagogue is an
incredibly terrifying act of anti-semitism. The spate of attacks on the Jewish
community in Brent and its neighbouring boroughs are vile and completely
unacceptable.
If you have any information that could lead to finding those
responsible for these attacks, please contact the police as soon as possible.
The Brent Green Party send our thoughts and prayers to the
Jewish community.
Cllr Mary Mitchell, leader of the Green Group on Brent Council speaking at the ACE Brent Hustings earlier this week.
This content published and promoted by James Paton on behalf of Brent Green Party and its candidates c/o 23 Saltcroft Close, Wembley, HA9 9JJ
Brent Green Party has launched its manifesto for a Fairer, Greener Brent. The Manifesto promises a more participative approach to running the local council with real citizen involvement. A similar approach was taken within the party to the production of the Manifesto with members involved in a policy ideas workshop at the campaign launch and ongoing dialogue later online.
A FAIRER,
GREENER BRENT
INTRODUCTION
We believe Brent is ready for fairer,
greener change. Change rooted in respect for the people of Brent and fresh
determination to make life better for all of us.
We want more for Brent residents than
Labour have provided over the past sixteen years.We believe that governing Brent is about political
choices - and too often Labour have made the wrong choices. Choices that work
in the interests of developers and corporations, and not in the interests of
Brent residents, choices that reflect a lack of transparency and
accountability, and choices that reflect a lack of ambition for Brent.
Austerity, started by the Conservatives
and Liberal Democrats and continued by Labour, has been the backdrop of these
choices but these failures have not been inevitable.
We believe Brent is ready for a new
administration that is committed to listening to residents, real citizen
involvement, transparency, accountability and to
tackling social and environmental injustice.
The Green Party is growing exponentially
in Brent, and nationally, where hundreds of thousands of voices are crying out
for change and for a politics rooted in the belief that local services should
work for people, not for profit.
Nationally the Green Party is calling for
a fairer, greener taxation system, including a new funding system for local
government, public ownership of water and rail and rent controls. In Brent that
same conviction shapes every commitment that we are making to Brent residents.
We want children to grow up in a safe,
warm home, with parks and open spaces that are protected, where there is real
choice about how to move around in Brent in a way that minimises air pollution
and increases health outcomes.
We want climate change to not be
perceived as an add-on, but care for our natural environment and awareness of
the relationship between planetary and human health impacts every decision that
is made. We think planetary boundaries shouldn’t be exceeded by continued
wealth and resource extraction, threatening our lives here and now and also
that of future generations.
We want to work in collaboration with
other parties and independents, respecting the decisions that residents have
made about who represents them, and to bring back real
democratic debate and participation to Brent.
Above all, we will build a Brent where everyone can feel
safe and belong, where lives are not restricted by lack of opportunity and
where residents can thrive irrespective of their background and start in life.
We will build a fairer, greener Brent that works for
everyone.
1.
Tackle Brent’s housing crisis head on
(1)Deliver more genuinely
affordable homes by prioritising social rent and genuinely affordable rent over
expensive ‘affordable’ products, supporting
community-led housing (including Brent Community Land Trust), and using council
land and planning powers to secure higher proportions of truly affordable
homes. We recognise that shared ownership is not an affordable option for most
Brent residents.
(2)Stop the sell-off of social
homes and rebuild council stock by campaigning to end Right to Buy and adopting
a “replace what we lose” approach, including targeted
buy-backs and acquisitions where this reduces temporary accommodation and keeps
families in Brent.
(3)Adopt a retrofit-first approach
to estate renewal and regeneration, exploring
innovative funding models and considering the whole life carbon impact of
buildings in decision-making.
(4)Get better value from Brent’s
housing companies (i4B and First Wave Housing). Review
their financial performance and tenant outcomes (repairs performance,
standards, satisfaction, affordability and void turnaround) and report findings
annually to Scrutiny, before scaling up acquisitions/“settled homes” approaches
to reduce reliance on expensive temporary accommodation and increase genuinely
affordable provision borough-wide.
(5)Implement a strict
“regeneration without displacement” policy so
residents can stay in their communities, including no net loss of social rent,
a meaningful right to return and resident involvement from the earliest stage
of design and decision-making.
(6)Bring repairs and housing
management back under stronger local control by
bringing council repairs back in-house (or re-procuring with clear standards),
publishing performance data and creating a clear escalation route so persistent
disrepair is fixed quickly.
(7)Support renters’ rights –
working alongside organisations like London Renters Union – and enforce them locally by backing London and national campaigns for
rent control .
(8)Hold every landlord to account
by maintaining and expanding landlord licensing so protections apply across the
whole borough, increasing the number of enforcement
officers, and moving from “paper licensing” to routine checks, proactive
inspections and tougher penalties for repeat offenders.
(9)Require sustainable development
that can be verified by publishing easy-read carbon/energy information for
major schemes, reporting annually on compliance with
Brent’s Sustainable Environment & Development SPD, and requiring SuDS
wherever feasible, microgeneration built into new builds and usable
food-growing space in major developments and growth areas.
(10)Reduce empty homes by
introducing stronger reporting, enforcement and penalties for long-term vacancy and using available powers to bring homes back into use so the
borough’s housing stock is used for people and not left idle
2.
Restore Public Ownership and Promote Community Wealth
(1)Support a strong, resilient
local economy that keeps wealth and benefits in the local area through prioritising insourcing of local services, local procurement
and local supply chains.
(2)Design a property strategy that
takes into account the social value as well as the financial value of council
assets, limiting rent increase of council-owned
properties & supporting the use of empty properties by community-led
organisations. Only dispose of council assets with full community consultation.
(3)Spend or earmark developer
funding for local communities rapidly and where it is most needed, provide regular, transparent reporting on funding received from
developers and decentralise decision-making about how funds are allocated.( Footnote: Brent
has accumulated approximately £177 million in unspent Community Infrastructure
Levy and Section 106 funds, the highest amount in the UK according to the Home
Builders Federation Unspent developer contributions 2026.)
(4)Explore closer integration
between the council and community libraries, through
the integration of volunteer-led library services where demand exists,
exploring paid library personnel, and protecting the remaining Brent
libraries from an erosion of their opening times and services to the
community.
3.
Protect, enhance and expand Brent’s parks and green spaces
(1)Protect Brent’s green spaces
from sale, development and commercialisation,
including renting out park spaces without consulting residents and protection
of open space designations.
(2)Adopt enhanced tree planting
standards based on Action on Climate and the Ecological Emergency (ACE)
recommendations: professional planting and aftercare protocols, canopy cover
mapping by ward with targets for low-canopy areas, native and climate-resilient
species prioritisation, and an interactive map showing planned felling with
reasons. Require independent verification of tree survival rates 3 years after
planting.
(3)Mandate biodiversity targets in the Krinkles’ Brent parks maintenance contract at the next review
point - including measurable targets for pollinator habitat creation, native
species planting, and canopy cover increase.
(4)Incorporate rain gardens such
as Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) or planting, repurposing some kerbside space, helping to prevent surface water
flooding and increase biodiversity and replacing hard landscaping with soft
ones.
(5) As Lead Flood Authority work with partners including Thames Water, Canal and River Trust, Environment Agency, Thames 21 and the many concerned voluntary oganisations concerned to tackle pollution in our waterways and plan flood mitigations.
4. Give our children and young people the
best start in life
(1)Increase free-to-access youth activities that provide social connections and
screen-free time to children and young people and lobby the national government
to properly fund councils to provide a comprehensive programme of youth centres
and more youth workers to meet local needs.
(2)Commit to involving young
people,
especially those from marginalised groups and who have spent time in care, in
decision-making about children and youth services.
(3)Strengthen inclusive practice in schools to improve support and
ensure the provision set out in Education Health and Care Plans and Special
Educational Needs plans is delivered.
(4)Provide accessible and high-quality playgrounds and play spaces, with a guarantee that missing and broken playground equipment is
replaced within 6 months, and that every playground not restored in the last
ten years is surveyed and refurbished within this council term. We will use
natural, non-toxic materials with benefits to the natural environment and to
children’s health and seek to create shaded spaces within playgrounds.
(5)Encourage and support
schools to green their playground by developing resources about the
benefits of green playgrounds and providing information about grants available
to schools (locally and at national level).
(6)Provide necessary help
required to schools tosell second-hand uniforms, hence reducing costs
for families and textile waste.
(7)Encourage schools to remain within the Brent family of schools overseen
by the Local Authorityand continue to campaign against forced academisation.
(8)Ensure the Welsh Harp
Environmental Education Centre continues to have a future, working closely with community organisations to provide access to
biodiversity and wildlife to children of all backgrounds across Brent.
5.
Make it easier, cheaper and healthier to move around in Brent
Image: Nightingale Estate parklet, Hackney (Credit Michael Shilling)
(1) Adopt a joined-up approach to
managing the space on the road next to the pavement most commonly used for
parking (the kerbside) balancing public benefit,
safety, climate goals and local priorities, including through developing a
“kerbside toolkit” for communities to adopt, including the introduction of
community and business parklets.
(2) Reform parking policy to develop fair, evidence-led parking approaches that cut carbon
emissions, improve air quality and make more sustainable use of kerbside space,
including through linking parking charges to emissions, size and weight of
vehicles, and expanding controlled parking zones to 75% of the borough.
(3) Expand cycling provision, including roll out of a variety of cycle parking types in areas of
the highest demand and as part of a strategic approach to facilitate cycling
across the borough, and seeking the installation of segregated cycle lanes
where funding allows.
(4) Build strong partnerships with
community organisations working to give Brent
residents a real choice of how they travelby re-instating the Active Travel Forum and identifying support
mechanisms e.g. provision of under-utilised council property or direct funding/
(5) Increase action on expanding
active travel by re-instating the Active Travel Forum,
changing the active travel strategy to 2030 rather than 2041 to align with the
revised London Mayor’s Transport Strategy.
(6) Work with transport providers
to improve the reliability, affordability and accessibility of public transport
across Brent, including supporting more frequent bus
services, better orbital connections, and integrated ticketing to make journeys
simpler and more attractive.
(7) Commission a borough-wide
pedestrian safety audit identifying the most dangerous
crossings, junctions, and desire lines, with a priority programme for
improvements - evidence-led and data-driven, not reactive to individual
complaints/
(8) Expand school streets with a
whole-neighbourhood approach, not just on single
roads, but the surrounding area. Include measurable air quality monitoring
before and after implementation, particularly on high-pollution corridors.
Further extend 20mph coverage into new neighbourhoods where supported.
6.
Promote clean streets and public care of our environment
(1)Adopt a prevention-first
approach to increase recycling rates and reduce fly tipping and littering by
investing in awareness and communication campaigns,
focused on hyper local solutions and in partnership with local communities.
(2)Strengthen waste enforcement
within landlord licensing, and link licensing
conditions to verified occupancy levels to reduce the gap between actual waste
generated and collection capacity, driving fly-tipping in residential areas.
(3)Conduct a thorough review of
waste management services to ensure regularity,
accountability and clarity as well as work towards bringing waste services back
in house.
(4)Re-introduce free bulky waste
collections for residents after piloting of different
models, and review access to Abbey Road Recycling Centre.
(5)Expand repair cafes and
developing partnerships with schools to teach re-use
and repair skills, and develop a directory of local repair and reuse
businesses.
(6)Install more accessible public
toilets in parks to improve community hygiene and accessibility and encourage local businesses to offer access to toilet facilities to
non-customers in exchange for a business rate reduction.
(7)Introduce more ‘rest’ and
‘play’ assets to the street scene for older and
disabled people, and children and young people to socialise, improving
community cohesion and facilitating greater access to public space for everyone.
7. Take decisive action on the energy
transition and climate crisis
(1)Establish a Brent Community
Energy Fund that supports community-led energy
projects, including retrofitting, to improve the energy efficiency of buildings
and expansion of community-owned energy generation schemes in Brent.
(2)Deliver retrofit and solar
generation on council-owned buildings at scale, in
partnership with community organisations and utilising new funding models
(3)Moving council energy supply to
verifiable renewable sources, and prohibiting
avoidable single-use plastics in the Brent Civic Centre and at events.
(4)Expand work on the West London
Local Area Energy Plan, using influence to fast-track
feasibility studies and progress.
(5)Ban advertising of
high-emitting industries on council owned billboards.
(6)Boldly pursue retrofit of
council-owned homes through exploiting innovative financing models, starting with stock condition surveys for 100% of council homes within
18 months to credibly plan for where the greatest impact can be achieved.
(7)Publish an annual carbon budget
for council operations with the same rigour as the
financial budget, including buildings, fleet, procurement, and contracted
services.
(8)Embed whole-life carbon
assessmentand biodiversity into every
planning decision over a specific threshold by
requiring lifecycle assessments, prioritising retrofit over demolition,
enforcing measurable nature and carbon targets, and holding developers
accountable for delivering them.
(9)Update the Local Plan to
reflect carbon and biodiversity as non-negotiable design parameters, not trade-offs and to include design codes for materials, density,
greening, overheating, flood resilience
8. Increase Transparency and Accountability
(1)Establish a dedicated scrutiny
committee to address the housing crisis, the lack ofgenuinely affordable houses, the poor state of maintenance of
council-owned housingand poor
enforcement of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) landlords in some areas.
(2)Establish independent chairs of
scrutiny committees from opposition parties to ensure
democratic scrutiny of policies and operations in line with best practice
rather than the ruling party scrutinising itself.
(3)Review and update progress on
the Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy through
quarterly reports to the appropriate Scrutiny Committee using Key Performance
Indicators.
(4)Review council pay ratios in line with Green Party Policy to amend the Pay Ratio to 10:1 for
Council Staff so the highest salaries are not more than 10 times the amount of
lowest earning staff – increasing some salaries and reducing others.
(5)Adopt ethical investment and procurement policies and divest Brent
Council pension fund from fossil fuel companies and
companies complicit in the ongoing genocide in Palestine and other conflicts
including weapons manufacturers. Work with other London boroughs to encourage
the London CIV (Common Investment Vehicle) to carry out such divestments.
(6)Set a target of 80%
implementation of internal audit recommendations within 12 months.
(7)Commit to publishing all
Freedom of Information responses proactively via a searchable public
register, not just responding to individual requests.
(8)End the scandal of temporary
accommodation spending by publishing full costs, providers and outcomes
quarterly, in recognition of the fact that Brent
currently spends over £100,000 per day on temporary accommodation with minimal
transparency over provider contracts or quality standards
(9)Publish a real-time housing
safety compliance dashboard so residents and
councillors can see exactly which legally required checks (fire, gas,
electrical, asbestos, water, smoke/CO) have been completed, verified, and are
overdue.(Reference/footnote:
The RSH gave Brent a C3 “serious failings” grade in May 2025 because the
council could not verify 12,500 fire safety actions marked as complete. Nearly
half of council homes had no recorded stock condition survey despite the
council claiming 95% coverage. Source: RSH C3 regulatory judgement, May 2025.)
(10)Publish a monthly “Council
Health Check” covering Ombudsman and regulator
findings, complaint volumes by service area, compensation paid, audit
recommendation implementation rate, and financial position. (Reference/footnote: The LGSCO upheld 88% of detailed
investigations against Brent (21 of 24), one of the highest rates in London.
Compensation payouts hit 277,814 in 2024-25, a 56% year-on-year increase.
Source: LGSCO annual review letter 2024-25.)
9. Build a Brent where everyone can
feel safe and belong
(1) Champion migrant rights through
close partnership with migrant and refugee organisations in Brent and design services to support residents regardless of immigration
status
(2) Oppose far-right influence in
our borough, work with police to ensure online safety for
all, and pioneer local educational initiatives designed to dismantle the online
narrative of hypermasculinity and misogyny including through funding of
mentorship programs
(3) Listen to and work with
community organisations raising concerns about policing practices, bringing together stakeholders to meaningfully address concerns in a
community-centered way
(4) Establish named community
safety officers for Brent Hubs to allow residents to
engage directly with the community safety team and the police about personal
safety concerns
(5) Expand the number of safe
shelters in Brent for women fleeing violence,
including those that meet diverse needs, with culturally competent services for
Black, Asian, and minority ethnic women anddedicated provision for LGBTQ+ survivors, as well as accessibility for
disabled women. We will prioritise the use of vacant or underused council
properties for conversion into safe accommodation.
(6) Strengthen neighbourhood
policing partnerships to prevent crime, reassures
residents, and strengthens communities and we will make the case to the
Metropolitan Police for the resources and local presence every ward in the
borough deserves
(7) Address health inequality
through transparency and action, publishing ward-level
health inequality data annually, making the 11-yr life expectancy gap between
Stonebridge and Kenton visible, trackable, and tied to specific council
interventions in housing, environment, and social care. Brent had the highest
age-adjusted COVID death rate in the UK (REFerence
ONS)
(8) Commission an independent
review of safeguarding referral pathways,
acknowledging the fact that the CQC rated Brent adult social care “Requires
Improvement” in August 2024 and found that safeguarding referrals from
under-represented groups were not being received.. (Source:
CQC inspection report, August 2024.) Set a maximum 28-day target for
adult social care assessnts with monthly public reporting on compliance.
(89 We will encourage partnerships between social care, health, housing and the voluntary sector to ensure
early support and prevention.
10. Affordable, healthy food for every
neighbourhood
(1)Maximise allotment use by conducting a borough-wide audit of all 21 Brent allotment sites to
ensure every plot is actively used. Introduce a strict “use it or lose it”
policy to reallocate neglected plots to residents on the waiting list.
(2)Champion the “Right to Grow” to make it easier for residents to transform grey spaces into vibrant,
edible landscapes.
(3)Prioritise community growing
education by launching seasonal “Dig Days” and urban
growing workshops, bringing together experienced gardeners and beginners to
learn skills in food production, soil health, and composting. Turning food
growing into a shared community activity that builds skills and connections,
and partnering with schools to embed skills with young people.
(4)Ensure access to affordable,
healthy foodwith a low environmental
impact by piloting not-for-profit community
supermarkets to reduce food bills and making fresh fruit and vegetables more
accessible, particularly in areas facing food insecurity. Partnering with
retailers to tackle food waste and promote sustainable consumption.
(5)Work with nurseries and schools
to reduce the use of ultra processed food at school
and at home, and use all possible mechanisms to limit the opening of new fast
food outlets near schools. Encourage schools to promote the benefits of a
mostly plant-based diet.
