BREAKING: Cllr Rajan-Seelan crosses the floor and joins Brent Conservative Group

I understand that an announcement is due confirming that Cllr Rajan-Seelan has joined the Conservative Group on Brent Council.

BREAKING: Wembley Central councillor leaves Labour Party

 Cllr Rajan-Seelan

I understand that Wembley Central councillor, Rajan-Seelan has resigned from the Labour Party. He will continue as a councillor and, as yet, there has been no announcement that he has joined another political party.

Cllr Rajan-Seelan was one of the eight sitting councillors not selected by the Board that chose candidates for the May 2026 borough election.

His background is in engineering and he is a member of the GMB union. He currently serves on the Council's licensing committees and the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee.

Cllr Rajan-Seelan's fellow Wembley Central councillors are Cllr Sonia Shah and Cllr Ketan Sheth, 

The councillor has been offered the opportunity to make a statement to Wembley Matters explaining his move. 

Green Party Shows Strongest Broadcast Momentum of Any UK Political Party Under New Leader Zack Polanski

 From Be Broadcast

New analysis of more than 220,000 UK broadcast mentions shows the Green Party is the only political force to have increased its airtime since early September - with visibility, tone, and membership all rising under new leader Zack Polanski.

The findings come from Mission Control, a broadcast monitoring project by Be Broadcast with political analysis by Cast From Clay, tracking coverage between 1 September and 20 October 2025.

This period continues the Who Gets Heard? study released in early September - but with one major change: the appointment of the Greens’ new leader.

While every other party’s coverage fell by between 55% and 85% during the period, the Greens rose by 44%, the only positive trend recorded. Over the same timeframe, party membership surged to over 126,000, overtaking the Conservatives and more than doubling the Liberal Democrats.

“Broadcast is often the first indicator of public movement - and that’s exactly what we’re seeing here,” said Josh Wheeler, founder of Be Broadcast. “The Greens’ rise on air mirrors their rise in membership, showing how people are shifting, not just parties.”

A New Phase for Green Coverage

Between 1 September and 20 October, the Green Party achieved 13,728 broadcast mentions, with Polanski personally referenced 8,648 times - more than Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey (4,543) and close to Opposition Leader Kemi Badenoch (10,074).

Despite leading a party with only four MPs, Polanski’s media presence now rivals senior figures from the major parties.

Mission Control’s language analysis shows a distinct tonal shift in how broadcasters discuss the party.

Before September, the Greens were primarily framed around protest, climate, and activism; since Polanski’s appointment, that focus has moved to fairness, jobs, prosperity, and the future.

This change has coincided with a dramatic rise in constructive coverage. Forty-one percent of mentions involving the Greens are now solution-focused or positive in tone - the highest of any national party - compared with 22% for the Conservatives and 19% for Reform UK.

“Audiences respond to clear, consistent communication,” said Tom Hashemi, CEO of Cast From Clay. “Polanski has reframed the Greens’ message from activism to aspiration - jobs, fairness, and prosperity. That’s not the language of protest, it’s the language of ambition.”

Comparative Party Performance (1 Sept – 20 Oct 2025)

Party	Broadcast Mentions (Sept–Oct)	2024 Vote Share %	MPs (2024)	Mentions per MP
Reform UK	83,776	14.3	5	16,755
Labour	43,431	33.7	411	106
Conservatives	18,695	23.7	121	155
Green Party	13,728	6.4	4	3,432
Liberal Democrats	9,468	12.2	72	132

 
 

The Greens’ per-MP broadcast ratio now outperforms Labour by more than 30 to 1 and the Conservatives by 22 to 1 - a striking change since the last report.

Their growth also came during conference season, a period usually dominated by the largest parties - suggesting that the uplift is structural, not seasonal.

“Broadcast acts as a national pulse,” Wheeler added. “When stories about fairness, cost of living, and the future start to dominate airtime, it signals something wider happening in public sentiment.”

Change Since the Last Report

Mission Control compared the September–October data with the earlier dataset covering 1 January–3 September 2025 to measure changes in relative broadcast share.

Although the timeframes differ in length, the comparison highlights which parties are gaining or losing momentum.

Party	Mentions (Jan–3 Sept)	Mentions (Sept–Oct)	% Change	Key Insight
Green Party	31,053	13,728	+44.2%	Only UK party to increase broadcast visibility since last report.
Labour	924,693	43,431	–84.7%	Attention plateau after initial post-election dominance.
Conservatives	121,251	18,695	–84.6%	Decline despite leadership speculation.
Reform UK	353,660	83,776	–76.3%	Still strong, but tone softening.
Liberal Democrats	46,468	9,468	–79.6%	Consistently underexposed.
SNP	45,308	7,373	–83.7%	Consistent but contained.
Plaid Cymru	2,194	969	–55.8%	Local strength, national quiet.
DUP	5,925	2,451	–58.6%	Static presence.
Sinn Féin	6,081	2,001	–67.1%	Focused on diplomacy over domestic debate.

 
 

While most parties lost ground, the Greens increased their broadcast footprint by 44%.
Polanski’s leadership coincided with this growth, supported by a membership surge and the party’s increased focus on social and economic issues.

“The same political climate that has opened space for Reform has also opened space for the Greens,” Hashemi added. “People are looking for something different. The question is whether Polanski can convince them that ‘different’ means Green, not Farage.”

 

Tone and Visibility by Party Leader

Leader	Mentions (Sept–Oct)	% Constructive Tone	Dominant Frame
Keir Starmer	42,385	29%	“Administrative stability.”
Kemi Badenoch	10,074	22%	“Internal reset.”
Nigel Farage	41,173	19%	“Provocation fatigue.”
Ed Davey	4,543	31%	“Community voice, limited cut-through.”
Zack Polanski	8,648	41%	“Fairness and prosperity.”

 
 

While Polanski’s tone is the most positive, other leaders show a different picture.

The Conservatives’ constructive tone sits at 22%, suggesting their recent focus on cultural and identity issues has not translated into broader resonance.

“Broadcast rewards clarity and originality,” said Hashemi. “Imitation doesn’t cut through.”

 

The Big Picture

• +44% increase in Green Party broadcast mentions since September
• 13,728 total mentions (party), 8,648 mentions (leader)
• 126,000 members, up 80% since leadership election
• Highest constructive tone of any UK leader (41%)
• Per-MP broadcast visibility 30× that of Labour

 

Together, the findings suggest that momentum and message discipline - rather than parliamentary size - are shaping modern broadcast visibility.

 

In a landscape where every major party saw its share of airtime fall, the Greens’ combination of consistency, tone, and public resonance stands out as the clearest measure of political momentum this autumn.

'Our climate is changing, so must we' - Sharing Space day at St Raph's and there's more to come!

 

Nadia Khan, Brent Council, introduces 

 

Fresh on the heels of the S very successful  St Raph's Vibe Day LINK the St Raph's Voice Community Centre held the first of four 'Sharing Space' days aimed at sharing more, wasting less and living well - a grass roots way of addressing climate change.

 

The event, held in conjunction with Brent Council appeared to be successful judging from the wide range of people taking part in terms of age and diversity, and from the smiles and concentration on faces.  

 

Asif Zamir, Chair of St Raphael's Voice told Wembley Matters:

 

The Sharing Space initiative is the result of a collaboration between St Raph’s residents, Brent Council, and Think & Do. This partnership aims to build a more resilient, connected, and climate-aware community from the ground up.

I was delighted by the engagement. We kicked off the inaugural session with 100 residents in attendance. The vibe was fantastic, as always it was great to see people coming out, supporting and having a great time. We are constantly striving hard to break down social barriers within St Raphs and this project has really helped us in reviving our core social values of sharing, whether it’s food, skills or advice. 

It a great way of educating and creating a conscious change in behaviour as residents become more aware of the tangible benefits of being more energy efficient and the power of good choices. Sharing, reusing and repairing instead of replacing or putting into landfill.

It has been especially refreshing to see the involvement of the estate’s youth, we have worked hard in our community to engage our local youth via our youth club #straphs. The young people all thoroughly enjoyed the session.

We will continue to build on the success of this event and look forward to developing this into a permanent fixture for St Raph's and hope our success will ripple through the borough. Our climate is changing, so must we!

 

 

Brent Mencap singing group, the All Stars, album now available.

 

All Stars - a singing group at Brent Mencap have written, recorded and launched a wonderful album of their own songs.

You can listen to it, download it here - https://ditto.fm/all-stars-rock

You can also read more about them and see them perform here - https://www.brentmencap.org.uk/amazing-artists

Listen to My Star My Rock on YouTube Music HERE

 

Please share this with EVERYONE! 

 

All Stars hope to inspire other people who have a learning disabiity to reach their stars and change people's views of what they are a capable of doing.

They will be performing a short set at Harrow Disability Arts Festival on 7^th November -

https://harrowarts.com/whats-on/event/disability-arts-festival-2025

Help shape nature's future in Brent. Take part in London's Local Nature Recovery Strategy consultation. Ends 23.59 October 29.

 

The local Nature  Recover Strategy will shape our nature spaces (hopefully preserve and enhance them) over the next few years as we deal with an ecological emergency.

You can read the documents and take complete a questionaire on the GLA site HERE. 

A summary of the purposes and key strategies from the document:

Natural spaces offer Londoners places to relax, exercise, play, and connect with the city’s natural heritage and culture. They also serve as essential habitats for wildlife, help protect the people who live and work here from the effects of climate change and play a role in improving air quality.

 

Yet despite its importance, nature is in decline globally and the UK is among the most nature-depleted countries in the world.

 

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) are a new, nationwide system of spatial strategies that aim to help reverse biodiversity loss. There are 48 LNRS areas covering the whole of England.

 

The Mayor of London has produced Greater London’s first LNRS. This new spatial tool maps London’s most valuable existing and potential areas for nature for the first time. It identifies the parts of nature most in need of help to recover, outlines the actions needed to improve them, and sets out where those actions could have the greatest impact.

 

What is nature recovery?

 

The term ‘nature recovery’ means increasing and improving nature to help reverse its decline. ‘Nature recovery’ does not necessarily aim to bring back something that existed in the past, instead it seeks to grow a richer network of nature by improving, connecting, creating and expanding it, while minimising further harm.

 

A collaborative approach

 

Successful nature recovery relies on collective action, so the LNRS has been developed through close collaboration with technical specialists, community groups, boroughs and Londoners.

 

It also builds on existing information and strategies, like the London Environment Strategy.

 

Purpose of the LNRS

 

The LNRS acknowledges that nature underpins everything people do. The priorities and measures set by the strategy will help to restore a healthy natural environment, which will in turn help clean our air and water and improve our mental and physical health.

 

The LNRS is a shared tool to help everyone in London support nature. It can be used by any organisation, group, or person. It provides a clear framework for coordinated and targeted action for nature in London, aiming to guide city-wide nature recovery that benefits the health of Londoners, biodiversity and climate resilience.

 

Londoners can help with nature recovery by using the LNRS to inform the way they use, manage, improve and develop land.

 

The six overarching priorities that apply everywhere in London are:

 

• Help people enjoy nature: Make it easier for all Londoners to enjoy and connect with nature, while looking after the most sensitive natural areas

 

• Bigger, better, more connected and more diverse: create, improve, and connect a mix of habitats to help nature thrive

 

• Boost wildlife populations: increase species abundance, with a focus on native and threatened species

 

• Help pollinators and minibeasts thrive: support a wide variety of land- and water-based invertebrates, including pollinators

 
• Support healthy soils: restore and minimise disturbance to soils and fungi to support all biodiversity
 

• Protect wildlife from invasive species: reduce and control invasive species to
protect and improve valuable habitats and species 

The focused priorities and measures specify needs around:

 

• Urban nature: support, enhance and connect nature in more urban areas such as parks, gardens, rooftops, and other green urban spaces. This will provide a range of benefits for people, such as supporting mental and physical health, and help many species including black redstart, peregrine, swift and house martin.

 

• Rewilding and re-introductions: create large-scale areas for nature, to support a diverse range of species in a complementary mix of habitats and to bring back animals and plants that used to live in London, including water voles and beavers.

 

• Green corridors: connect nature spaces across London to help wildlife move through the city.

 

• Trees and woodland (including orchards): plant more trees and look after existing woodlands, orchards, and parklands. This will benefit important species including bats, butterflies and specialist woodland plants and provide cooling for Londoners.

 

• Waterbodies and waterways: create, improve and restore water environments to help nature thrive in rivers, streams, and lakes. This will benefit species including kingfisher, otter and European eel.

 

• Wetlands: create, improve and connect other wet habitats, such as marshland and reedbeds. This includes natural flood management measures, like sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) and constructed wetlands. This will benefit birds and wetland flowering plants, and build climate resilience.

 

• Grassland, heath and scrub: create, improve, and connect nature in grassland, heathland, scrubland, and on farms. This will help support ground nesting birds such as skylark and lapwing, a range of butterflies and harvest mice.

 

• ‘Micro-habitats’: increase specialist habitat areas such as deadwood and patches of sand to benefit specialist insects, fungi and bats.

 

The LNRS does not give any extra protection to nature sites, but it helps landowners and managers, planners and designers know how best to design, improve and manage land to help London tackle the climate and ecological emergencies through nature recovery

 

A rather extraordinary resource is the Local Habitat Interactive Map showing areas for action in Brent and other boroughs. LINK 

It is quite complex so the video below may help. You can find your address on the map and see any proposals relating to it. 

 

Respond to the consultation on the future regeneration of Willesden Trades Hall and Apollo Club

 

The Willesden Trades Hall Charity is celebrating the launch of its inaugural project at the building, with a grant of £85,675 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and further match-funding from The Architectural Heritage Fund.

 

Over the next eight months, the Board of Trustees, comprised of local stakeholders, will commence the process of regenerating this historic building, via three key objectives. The board will be supported by heritage specialists, London Historic Buildings Trust, and award-winning architecture and design firm, Adjaye Associates to:

 

1.     Invigorate and communicate the historic significance and legacy of the building and appraise and address its material condition and needs.

2.     Facilitate the reopening of the ground floor (former London Apollo Club) for ‘meanwhile’ community use

3.     Identify a viable long-term future for the building that will benefit the diverse communities of Brent.

 

Project activities will include the delivery of a series of building investigations, community consultations and architectural services by Adjaye Associates; a pilot programme of cultural and heritage activities overseen by London Historic Buildings Trust; and actions to strengthen the governance and resilience of the new Charity on its journey towards the full repair and renovation of the building.

 

Alan Scott, Chair of Trustees said:

 

The Willesden Trades and Labour Hall is a building with great historical and cultural significance to Brent, London and the nation as an iconic home for the British Labour movement.  Since the early twentieth century the hall has played a crucial role in the political, economic and social history of the local area, and indeed the nation. The London Apollo Club, opened in 1969, was one of the first venues exclusively for Reggae and Afro-Caribbean culture in Europe and as such a historic community asset for that diaspora. We are now extremely excited to have the opportunity to re-invigorate this building’s legacy and imagine how it can migrate into the future.

 

Stuart McLeod, Director of England - London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:

 

Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re delighted to support this important first step in the regeneration of the Willesden Trades Hall along with money from The Architectural Heritage Fund. It will look to shape a sustainable future for this much-loved community asset, bringing the Hall back into meaningful use and celebrating its heritage for generations to come. At the Heritage Fund, we believe in the power of heritage to bring people together and this project is a great example of this.

 

 LINK TO CONSULTATION

 

VIRTUAL TOUR AND MORE

 

ABOUT THE WILLESDEN TRADES HALL CHARITY

The Charity was launched in 2024 with the purpose of preserving and maintaining the Willesden Trades & Labour Hall and London Apollo Club as a site of architectural, historical and cultural interest and significance, and to benefit the residents of the London Borough of Brent.

 

The Willesden Trades Hall and the Labour movement, the arts and the London Apollo Club

The Willesden Trades Hall has in recent times fallen into disuse. The Willesden Trades Hall Charity owns the Hall and is the grateful recipient of resilience funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund and the Architectural Heritage Fund so it can commence the reinvigoration of this legacy building for the twenty first century with the support of the London Historic Building Trust as Project Managers.

 

The Labour movement

From no 375 High Road trade unionists, the trades council and Labour movement activists have met and organised industrial action and campaigns for over 100 years: it has been the venue for significant advances in emancipation, particularly with respect to women’s workers’ rights as headquarters for actions from the National Federation of Women Workers in the early twentieth century. In 1924 Sylvia Pankhurst founded the Willesden Branch of the Communist Workers Movement at the Hall. In 1926 the Hall became the HQ of the General Strike. The General Strike was followed by the Hunger Marches in the 30s protesting high unemployment. Marchers were welcomed at the hall.

 

The 2-year Grunwick strike of the 1970’s for unionisation because of low pay and intimidating practices by the employers was organised by a group of mainly Asian women workers at the nearby Grunwick factory. Its strike committee met at the hall. The local trades council coordinated the level of solidarity the Grunwick strike achieved between women from minority ethnic backgrounds and the wider trade union movement.

In the 1980s it was the London base for the Kent Miners during the Miners’ Strike and followed by the Peoples March for Jobs in the 1980s. Local dinner ladies provided lunches for the marchers.

 

The Hall’s reputation for solidarity was international when Nelson Mandela visited the UK in 1962 and was invited to Brent. His intention was to speak at the Hall, but the attendance was overwhelming, and the event was moved to another venue.

 

The London Apollo Club, Reggae and the Afro-Caribbean Community

In 1969 the London Apollo Club was launched by Bob Marley on the ground floor of the building. Despite local resistance mainly due to racism the club became a treasured cultural and community venue for the local Afro -Caribbean community. It provided a space for activism and solidarity for the community (which continues at the Brent Black Music Co-operative next door) and welcomed legendary national and international reggae artists including John Holt, Elton Ellis, Gregory Isaacs. The London Apollo Club prevailed until the pandemic lockdown of 2020 but had sadly to close.

 

The Future

Following de-industrialisation in the 1980s, the weakening of the trade union movement and the retreat of collective bargaining, the Hall, its funding and its activities have slowly declined and the Willesden Trades and Labour Hall Society was deregistered in 2000.

The building itself has since been neglected and needs attention, some urgent. The Charity has been formed to seek solutions for the buildings’ future.  WTLH Services Ltd (by Guarantee) was awarded a first grant by the National Heritage Lottery Fund.  WTLH Services transferred ownership of the building to Willesden Trades Hall Charity which was formed in December 2024.

 

The new project, funded by the Heritage Fund and AHF, will pursue a broad community consultation to inform how to best care for the building’s legacy and ensure this legacy migrates into the future both as part of the Labour movement and as a cultural and music venue. The charity has the firm and broad intention of creating new spaces for the Labour movement, the community and the arts by facilitating education, history, practices of community care, a place to meet and the cultural and creative enterprise that reflects the diverse constituents of Brent.

 

LINK TO CONSULTATION

 

 

The Building

The Charity will be procuring an architect-led design team who can start the process of defining a practical and creative direction for the renovation and development of the building long term, that has an affinity with the area and its communities, and can bring a creative vision to bear onto the ethical, cultural ambitions of the Charity as they reflect the material legacy of the building and its historical activities.

                                           

ABOUT THE NATIONAL LOTTERY HERITAGE FUND

Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past. 

 

Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities. 

heritagefund.org.uk