BREAKING: Brent Labour Party members excluded from candidate selection process for 2026 local elections

 Usually over the next few months Labour Party members would be meeting to select the candidates for their ward in the next local council election in 2026.  In the past there have been allegations of candidates signing up friends and family as Labour Party members a few week before the selection meeting in order to get the maximum vote.

This year is different. 

Selection will be made by external 'assessors' recruited by the London Region of the Labour Party.  Each candidate will have a 30 minute virtual interview.  Candidates will be able to express a preference for their top three wards but sitting councillors will be given first preferences in the allocation of wards.

So what role will rank and file Labour Party members have?

The control by the London Region does not end there. A 'Campaign Improvement Board'  will operate in Brent due to the electoral challenge it faces. It will oversee the selection process and establish a relationship with all Brent candidates ahead of the election. Candidates wil be expected to sign a contract setting out campaigning expectations and any extra support needed.  Training will also be provided.

The Brent Campaign Improvement Board  will include Abdi Duale (NEC), Bella Sankey (Leader of Brighton & Hove Council), and Clyde Loakes (Deputy Leader of Waltham Forest Council). All are well known supporters of Labour leader Keir Starmer.

Cllr Shama Tatler is Vice Chair of the London Regional Executive Committee and a member o the Regional Board for Barnet, Camden, Brent and Harrow.

Islamia Primary move to the Brentfield Road Leopold School site on May 19th Cabinet Agenda. Consultation starts late May/Early June

 

The proposed site for Islamia Primary School, Brentfield Road, Neasden

 On October 11th 2023 Wembley Matters speculated that the Leopold Primary School building in Brentfield Road (Gwnneth Rickus site), that had been earmarked for closure, could be a possible location for Islamia Primary School. LINK. Islamia had been given notice of eviction by the Yusuf Islam Foundation (YIF) that owned the Salusbury Road, Queens Park, site.  The YIF wants to expand the nearby private Muslim secondary schools.

Now Sophia Moussaui, Chair of Islamia Governors, has written to parents to say that the Governors and Brent Council have agreed that the site could offer a positive solution for the future of the Islamia Primary School.

The proposal goes to Brent Cabinet on May 19th and if planned progress goes well Islamia could open on the new site in September 2027. The YIF has extended the eviction notice until August 2027 but states that if the school does not move the eviction will go ahead.

 An informal consultation, managed by the Governing Body, will go ahead at the end of this month if the Cabinet agrees the proposal followed by public meetings at Islamia in the first two weeks of June.

Ms Moussaui writes:

We understand that any change brings questions and we are committed to keep you fully informed as  the process develops.

 The Cabinet Paper (available HERE) includes the following points (my emphasis):

Islamia Primary School (IPS) is one of Brent’s most popular schools as the only state Muslim school in the borough. The school has 418 pupils on roll (School Census January 2025) and each year the 60 Reception places are usually offered to families who applied for the school as their first preference. The school has a high sibling factor with 43% of Reception places in both September 2025 and September 2024 offered to siblings. The majority of pupils on roll are from Brent. The numbers of out-of-borough children offered was historically low. However, this has changed since the school removed a local catchment area from its admission arrangements in 2020. 21.5% of current students live outside Brent.

This is an increase on the figures from January 2024 (17.2%) and January 2023 (14.4%). 36.7% of offers made for Reception in September 2025 are for children who live outside Brent.

 

It is recognised that relocating Islamia Primary School to the Gwenneth Rickus site could give concern to parents and staff who are impacted by and objected to the closure of the Leopold Primary School provision on the site. Other local schools may also be concerned that the location of the IPS on the Gwenneth Rickus site could impact on their pupil numbers. It is the case that Islamia Primary School may attract local pupils in the future. However, as the only Muslim faith school in Brent, IPS draws from a wide area across the borough and for some pupils attending the school the site will be closer to where they live. The school also recruits pupils from other boroughs. Furthermore, the high sibling factor in the school’s intakes (over 40%) means that many families currently attending the school will continue to access places in the future. Given the wide geographic area that the school serves, the school would be expected to develop a sustainable travel plan that includes public transport

 

£2.8m of Targeted Capital Fund was transferred from IPS to Brent by the DfE in 2012 in order to manage and deliver the planned IPS new build following the school’s unsuccessful attempt at delivering the project. The design of the Salusbury Road site expansion referred to in paragraph 3.2.3 was funded using £200K of the TCF and therefore £2.6m remains. The DfE has agreed on an annual basis for this funding to be rolled forward until such time as a permanent solution for IPS has been identified. They have been asked to consider if this funding could be made available for investment in the Gwenneth Rickus site, recognizing that it is not required to provide basic need accommodation. As this would not meet the criteria for the targeted capital programme under which this funding was provided, the DfE may require it to be returned

 

The school’s DSG allocation currently includes £63K in split site funding, which is an element in the national funding formula allocated to schools that operate from more than one site. The school would no longer be eligible for this funding if it relocated to the Gwenneth Rickus site, reducing its per pupil funding by £150 per pupil.

 

The 206 and 224 buses stop near the school and the 18 passes the junction with Brentfield Road. The 260 and 266 stop a little further away in Harlesden. The 206 is already busy with south-north school pupil travel and the service would need to be improved. Double-deckers have already been introduced at some periods.

An Islamia Primary parent commented:

Twenty odd years and they come up with a school miles away. I think  there are many missed opportunities.

Labour Leadership incompetence in the management of the Barham Park Trust could have lost residents up to £100,000 in income, claims Paul Lorber

Another potential  failure in the effective and responsible management of the Barham Park Trust has been revealed by Brent Liberal Democrat Leader, Paul Lorber. Readers will know that the Trustees are all members of the Brent Labour Cabinet with no representation from the community that is supposed to benefit from the Barham bequest.

In an email to Brent CEO, Kim Wright, Lorber alleges that the Trust failed to arrange a lease and collect rent from a Barham Park building occupied by the Young Brent Foundation, thus depriving the Trust of income.

Cllr Lorber asks for an Internal Audit based on the following:

1.  The Council has had a Lease of the former Children Centre space in Barham Park Complex for many years.
2. When that use ceased the space was made available to Brent Young Foundation who were allowed to take occupation before a Lease was prepared and signed.
3. Officers were instructed to prepare and finalise a Lease some 4 years ago but never did. (I expect there were exchanges documenting the terms and basis on which YBF could use the building in advance of the Lease - an unusual situation not available to others). They were due to pay a rent equal to the rent paid by the Council to Barham Park Trust - originally £11,300pa but at some point subject to a review. 
4. Young Brent Foundation were in occupation until now - it is not clear if proper legal process for termination was followed and the space is still being cleared as I write. (Termination was referred to at a recent Barham Park Trust Meeting). 
5. The answers received to date (but not complete and slow in coming) suggest that Young Brent Foundation did not pay any rent, any business rates, any service charges and possibly no utility costs for electricity, gas or water or contribution to insurance.
6. It is also not clear who paid for any of the above.
7. I estimate that the loss mainly to Brent Council but also partly to the Barham Park Trust may be in the region of £100,000.
8. An independent investigation is required as Property and Finance are implicated and YBF clearly has other debts owing to the Council and others including possibly HMRC and the Pensions Authority.  Letters from all these are coming through Barham Community Library and have been passed by me to the Property Unit.
9. The investigation needs to ask a number of questions including why was occupation by YBF allowed without a lease being in place, why was no rent collected, who paid the costs of the business rates and utilities and others. What action is being taken to recover all the debts and losses sustained by Brent Council and Barham Park Trust.
10. I consider this a major failing by various Units of Brent Council. It seems that if you are well connected as people in YBF were you get anything and you get away with anything without effective scrutiny or action. 
11.  It is particularly galling because well established organisations in my Sudbury Ward or in Barham Park which have provided services to local people for years - East Lane Theatre Club, LNER Sports Club and Barham Veterans Club are under threat of closures because of unfair and unrealistic rent demands from the Brent Property Unit. All of these should have had lease renewals a long time ago well before the new Brent Council Property Strategy was out in place which fails to take into account the contribution these organisations provide for local people.  
    

 Cllr Lorber adds:

In view of the above I trust that you will instruct Internal Audit to investigate and for Property and Finance respond fully to my outstanding enquiries.

I am making my request public as part of my Scrutiny duty as the Scrutiny arrangements in Brent Council are ineffective and frankly a waste of time as recent Call Ins clearly show. Labour Councillors are cleared whipped and will never agree to refer an item back to Cabinet however flawed the original decision.

 

UPDATE: Brent Council refers itself to Housing Regulator as result of finding weaknesses in its actions to ensure compliance

 Brent Council is writing to its tenants and leaseholders after it referred itself to the Housing Regulator in relation to its previous building risk assessment actions.

The Council will tell them what actions they are taking following identification of weaknesses in their management of follow-up actions following the completion of the required checks across its estates. The concerns were identified as part of Brent Council's new Housing Management Plan.

Although tenants and leaseholders do not have to take any action themselves if they have further questions about building, fire safety, asbestos, or gas, electrical and general compliance they should email the teams below:

For building safety issues: BHMBuildingSafety@brent.gov.uk
For asbestos related issues: housingasbestos@brent.gov.uk
For fire safety related issues: housingfiresafety@brent.gov.uk
For gas, electrical & general compliance issues: complianceteam@brent.gov.uk

Swindown Borough Council has previously referred itself to the Housing Regulator and you can read about the proces son its web page HERE.

The regulatory standards for social housing landlords are set out HERE

 

UPDATE:

Cllr Lorber has received this response regarding the self-referral  after requesting further information:

 

As it stands I can confirm that fire risk assessments (FRAs) have been carried out on our blocks of flats whether that’s our high-rise blocks or converted street properties.

 

What we have some concerns with, is actions that are registered as a consequence of an FRA and how they have been closed down on our system, True Compliance, that has been in use for around 2 years.

 

At present we are carrying out an audit of this process and have appointed an external Health and Safety Consultant to assist with this.  Until that audit has been completed I’m not able to say what the situation is on individual blocks but rest assured that we will be working hard to rectify these issues over the coming months and prioritising actions according to risk.

 

The Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 is a UK law designed to improve the quality, safety, and accountability of social housing, especially in council-owned homes and this act came into forces around this time last year.

 

In simple terms, the Act gives the Regulator of Social Housing more power to make sure landlords (like us) are doing their jobs properly, keeping homes safe, in good condition, and treating tenants fairly.

 

Councils are now subject to inspections by the Regulator, much like Ofsted inspections, to check that we meet safety and quality standards in the way that we are delivering our homes. We have not been inspected yet, but we could be at any time, and therefore after finding an issue such as this it is far more advantageous to be proactive, transparent, and accountable hence our self-referral.

 

Spring Event at Harlesden Town Garden Saturday May 10th 1pm - 4pm

 

The formal consultation on the amalgamation of Malorees Infant and Malorees Junion School has opened. Have Your Say. Closing date 10th June 2025

 The headteacher of the Malorees Schools has written to parents announcing that the formal consultation on the amalgamation of the Infant and Junior schools has opened:

 I am writing to inform you that the formal consultation on the proposed amalgamation of Malorees Infant and Junior Schools has now been launched.

A statutory notice has been placed on the school gates, and all relevant information can be found in the formal proposal which can be found at https://haveyoursay.brent.gov.uk.

It is really important that all parents take the opportunity to share their views on the proposed amalgamation. If you are in favour of the proposal, or not we encourage you to make that viewpoint known as all feedback, will be taken into consideration.

 

As the consultation is now in its final and formal stage, all comments must be submitted directly on the website, or by post to Brent Council. Please don’t send any comments to the school as they will not count as a formal consultation response.

 

Thank you for your support.

 

The Have Your Say webpage has the following introduction:

 

Malorees Infant and Junior Schools - Formal Consultation

 

Brent Council has launched a formal consultation regarding the amalgamation of Malorees Infant School and Malorees Junior School.

 

This would result in the schools joining together to become one primary school, known as Malorees Primary School.

 

Brent Council, working with the governing body of the two schools, is seeking your views on the proposal to amalgamate Malorees Infant and Junior Schools. This is a unique opportunity to bring two good schools, which are already federated under one governing body, together as a single educational institution. The combined school would build on the existing strengths and good practice within both schools, and over time there would be opportunities to further enhance whole school approaches to improve teaching and learning across all key stages.

 

Further information is contained in the full proposal document, linked below. Any person may object to or make comments on the proposal by clicking the 'Leave a comment' button on this page.

 

If you have any questions about the consultation, please contact Michael Rollin at MaloreesConsultation@brent.gov.uk

The closing date for the consultation is Tuesday 10th June 2025.

 

THE PROPOSAL DOCUMENT (hover your mouse over foot of page 6 and press + to enlarge)

 

 

 

 

The five runners in the race to be Brent's Deputy Mayor 2025-26

 

The Brent Labour Group's AGM tomorrow will be over-shadowed by last Thursday's election results. Brent goes to the polls on May 7th next year and given the volatile state of politics it is hard to predict what will happen. Those who think Reform has no chance in London should bear in mind that there may be some support in Outer London due to a collapse in the Conservative and Labour vote. A lot will depend on whether Greens and Liberal Democrats can take on Reform.

This leaves the Labour Group's choice of Deputy Mayor for 2025-26 more difficult. They would be due to be Mayor after the 2026 borough election but will they still be a councillor and able to take up the role?

So members of the Labour Group,  as well as looking at the five candidates' election statements, will likely take into account the security of the ward the candidates currently represent (although that could change through some nifty selection manoeuvres ).

Cllr Ryan Hack will become this years' Mayor at the Annual Council Meeting, the youngest ever, but who will be the Deputy?

Those in the know give Cllr  Ishma Moeen (Wembley Hill ward) the edge in the first past the post secret ballot. She has no current Committee position on the council so is relatively inexperienced but does have business experience according to her Register of Interests:

At the 2022 local election she was just 91votes ahead (1390) of the leading Conservative (1299).

I understand that Cllr  Narinder Singh Bajwa (Northwick Park) is running again after his defeat last year. His only Committee role is on the Alcohol and Licensing Sub-Committee.  His energetic and insistent campaigning has annoyed some of his colleagues, and out in the community he has been accused of over-claiming his involvment in the K-Pop Festival issue.

His business interests are based on a number of entities that share the name Skyspace, only one is recorded on the Register of Interests.  The main company gives its interests as development of building projects,  building completion and finishing and other letting and operating of own or leased real estates.  Total net assets seem to be around £5.5m.

At the local election in 2022 Cllr Bajwa was well ahead of the nearest Conservative, 1638 votes to 984.

Another name that has cropped up is  Cllr Rita Begum (Kilburn).  She is Chair of Brent Connects (Kilburn) and a member of the Planning Committee.

Her entry on the Register of Interests is extensive and includes 'Ambassador for Gem Environment Building Services Lrd and Paytap' and Advisor to SD Care Agency.

Gem is based in Central London and a leading building maintenance contractor since 1999, serving London and the Southeast across sectors like local authorities, social landlords, schools, and commercial buildings.

Paytap is one of the many companies offering firms a gadget to take card payments.  

Cllr Begum was top in the Kilburn 2022 local election with 2,115 votes. The nearest political rival was the Green Party at 679.

Cllr Kathleen Fraser (Chalkhill), is also a candidate. She is a veteran Labour Party member, first elected as a councillor in the 1980s and is deeply embedded in Chalkhill and its Community Centre, Community Trust and Residents' Association. 

Cllr Fraser is Vice Chair of the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny  Committee. She topped the Barnhill election with 1,410 votes.

Lastly, but these candidates are listed in no particular order, is Cllr Orleen Hylton. (Preston). Cllr Hylton has been Mayor before but she was affected by illness duing the latter half of her term. She is on the Licensing Committee, the Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee, the Employers Joint Consultative Committee and vice chair of Wembley Connects.

Cllr Hylton's Register of Interest includes Diversity Office for Brent Friends of the Earth, governor of Donnington Primary Schools and  Company Secretary of the Black African Caribbean Alliance.

Cllr Hylton was second  in the 2022 Council election with 1417 against 941 for her Conservative rival.

As far as I can ascertain there are no committee changes likely at the AGM that will be held at 6pm tomorrow at the Civic Centre. 

 

 

Note an earlier edition of this article also contained a paragraph on Cllr Robert Johnson (Chalkhill) who I have now been told has withdrawn his Mayoral submission.

'Neither shared nor ownership' - SHAC's factual information blitz counters SO mis-selling at the London Home Show

 

Despite a partial recognition by Brent Council that Shared Ownership is not an affordable housing route for most Brent resident and broader issues with the product, the Planning Committee continues to approve developments that include a shared ownership component.

Previous articles on Wembley Matters have covered the topic. 

https://wembleymatters.blogspot.com/2022/11/shared-ownership-lets-have-debate.html

 

https://wembleymatters.blogspot.com/2022/11/brents-affordable-council-housing.html

 

I thought that a recent article by SHAC (Social Housing Action Campaign) would be of interest to readers and local politicians.

 

I thank SHAC for their permission to reproduce the article below that can also be found on their website HERE

 

 

 

By Alison, SHAC Campaigner

 

Twice a year, the estate agent subsidiaries of the big London housing associations assemble at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster for the London Home Show. 

 

Mortgage providers, conveyancing solicitors, and related service providers also take stalls. It’s a one stop shop for Shared Ownership (SO) flats.

 

The problem is, SO in neither shared nor ownership. The tenant is responsible for 100% of the costs of the maintenance of their properties, and also, through service charges, the cost of maintaining the building and the area around it. 

 

Service charging is entirely unregulated and escalates quickly. There is no tenure in law that is called ‘shared ownership’ – that is actually a marketing term. Legally, all you have is an assured tenancy, which means that if you get into just eight weeks arrears with rent and / or service charge, the landlord can repossess the entire property and, crucially, not give you back the money you paid for your share (1). 

 

It is sold as an affordable way to get a foot on the property ladder, and with an option for ‘staircasing’, ie. increasing the share of the property that you theoretically own until it reaches 100%. But when rent rises above inflation, service charges increase exponentially, and wages do not keep pace with property prices, it’s no wonder that less than 3% of tenants ever ‘staircase’ to 100% (2).

 

So, a few concerned housing activists from SHAC went along to the London Home Show on Saturday 26 April 2025, armed with information leaflets for people attending the show. We knew from experience that the marketing people inside – with their bright smiles and their glossy brochures – give information on SO that is so riddled with inaccuracies, omissions, and outright lies, that their conduct constitutes deliberate mis-selling. 

 

By contrast, we had more details and sources for future research, so that anyone thinking about buying SO would know where get accurate, independent, impartial information. We didn’t have banners or placards or megaphones. But what we did have, in abundance, were facts. 

 

 

It was a lovely, sunny day, and the show was not quite as well-attended as it was the last time there was a demo outside it, in 2022. What we did find, though, was that everyone we spoke to already knew about the problems with SO. Awareness of the problematic nature of the tenure is high, although not everyone knew the details. 

 

Many people were going along to the show out of curiosity, where previously they were going along with the express intention of finding a home. A lot of people were interested in SO only because they viewed it as better than private renting – a low bar if ever there was one – but still were not convinced that it was right for them.

 

It’s astonishing that the Mayor of London chooses to promote SO as a part of his affordable housing plan, when the Housing Select Committee has found that the scheme is failing to deliver on any of its promises (3). 

 

It is astonishing that Labour spent fourteen years in opposition, becoming increasingly aware through their constituents’ complaints that SO is a problem and the landlords running the schemes are out of control, and yet still have no plan to reform it. But as people are gradually turning away from the tenure, and more and more SO homes go unsold (4), sooner or later something will have to give.

 

Sources:

(1) Shared Ownership Resources – Shared Ownership – Is It Really Ownership?

(2) SORESEI Blog – Shared Ownership Market Review 2020

(3) Parliament – Shared Ownership is Failing to Deliver an Affordable Route to Homeownership Say MPs

(4) Inside Housing Third Quarter Turnover at L&Q – But Hundreds of Shared Ownership Homes Remain Unsold