Help us build a Green Brent. Please donate

 

Cllr Mary Mitchell

 

Hi i’m Mary. 

I hope you’re having a peaceful holiday with people you love.

I’m writing to you as a Brent Green Party member — and also as one of the five councillors who left the Labour Party nearly two weeks ago to join the Greens. It wasn’t a decision I took lightly, but I did it because I believe the Green Party is now the strongest and most principled force for change in Brent.

That belief matters more than ever, because this coming May is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Greens in Brent. For the first time in 15 years, we have a real chance to significantly reduce Labour’s numbers on the council and elect more Green councillors who will stand up for our communities, the climate, and social justice.

But we can only do this if we’re visible. That means leaflets through doors, posters in windows, and campaign materials that cut through at a time when many people feel let down by politics as usual. All of that costs money, and as a local party we rely entirely on the generosity of members and supporters like you.

If you’re able to, I’m asking you to make a donation to our campaign appeal. Even a small amount will help pay for leaflets, printing, and the materials our volunteers need to win conversations on the doorstep and at street stalls.

This is a moment worth fighting for — and worth funding. With your help, we can turn hope into Green councillors this May.

Thank you for everything you do for the party, and for considering a donation at this important time.

Wishing you a relaxing holiday,

Mary

Brent Green Party

A Christmas message from Brent's Green councillors

 

Dear Brent residents,

As the year comes to an end, we want to wish you a happy Christmas and a restful festive break.

It has been a difficult year for many people in Brent, with ongoing pressure from rising costs and stretched public services. At the same time, we’ve continued to see residents, community groups and volunteers supporting one another and standing up for what matters locally. That sense of shared responsibility is one of Brent’s real strengths.

Looking ahead to 2026, we remain hopeful that Brent can move in a fairer, greener direction — one that puts communities first and protects our shared future. We’re committed to continuing that work alongside residents in the year ahead.

Thank you for everything you do for your neighbourhoods and communities. We wish you and your families a peaceful Christmas and all the best for the new year.

Best wishes,

The five Green councillors in Brent

'Why we left the Labour Party' new Brent Green councillors say it straight

“We want to represent a party that believes in a radical overhaul of our systems to tackle the cost of living crisis and rising inequality.” Our five new councillors on why they left Labour to join the Green Party! 💚

[image or embed]

— The Green Party of England & Wales (@greenparty.org.uk) 16 December 2025 at 19:02

Brent Green Group councillors elaborate on why they left Labour - decision not taken lightly but with due thought and some regrets

 

 

 

From Brent Green Party 

 

Following a surge in the polls and with membership growing to over 180,000 in just a few months, the Green Party is today announcing the biggest block defection yet to the Greens, with 5 Labour councillors coming over to the Green Party,  

The 5 Brent Councillors are: 

  Cllr Harbi Farah (Former Labour Cabinet Member, Welsh Harp) 

Cllr Iman (Former Labour Party Whip, Wembley Park) 

Cllr Mary Mitchell (Welsh Harp) 

Cllr Tony Ethapemi (Stonebridge) 

Cllr Erica Gbajumo (Brondesbury Park) 

 

These latest defections come on the back of seven previous defections in London alone since September, with two in Southwark in the last month.  

Zack Polanski, Leader of The Green Party of England & Wales, said:  

The Green surge has just widened in London. What we’re witnessing in Brent mirrors what we’re hearing across the country on doorsteps and in polls. Good Labour councillors can see Labour has abandoned any sense of progressive politics and is showing absolute cowardice in its doomed attempt to out Reform, Reform with the politics of division and scapegoating.   

Increasingly, people are finding the alternative they need by joining the Green Party and working for a better world shaped by hope rather than fear. 

In the elections in May, it is the Greens who will be taking the fight to Reform and we show our intent today in Brent. This is just the start.”  

 

Quote from Eugene McCarthy, Chair London Green Party Federation 

This huge defection reflects what we are hearing on the doorstep. Labour aren’t prepared for what’s coming in May’s local elections.

Statement from Brent Green Party: 

Brent is the most diverse borough in London, rich in history and culture, yet years of Labour and Tory austerity have taken a heavy toll. Services continue to shrink, in-work poverty is rising, families are under pressure, and local businesses face growing uncertainty. In one of the world’s wealthiest cities, such inequality is indefensible. 

By joining the Brent Green Party, Tony, Iman, Mary, Erica and Harbi are now able to speak out and push back. They are dedicated councillors who work hard for their communities, and Brent Greens stand ready to support them as they fight to put the needs of residents back at the heart of local government. 

Statements from Councillors 

 

 

Cllr Iman Ahmadi-Moghaddam (Former Labour Party Whip) 

Ward: Wembley Park 

I joined Labour to build a fairer society, but Starmer’s government has abandoned any ambition to change the system. This government has doubled down on austerity whilst the cost of living devastates families, sides with big developers instead of fixing Brent’s housing crisis, and scapegoats migrants to distract from its own failures. And whilst Israel commits genocide in Gaza, this government arms the perpetrators and criminalises peaceful protest. 

 

Throughout my time as a Councillor, I stood up for and organised for Palestine, for renters’ rights, leaseholders’ rights, for human rights, for an end to austerity, and for a fairer Wembley Park and Brent.  

 

I am joining the Green Party, which is now home to the values of compassion, social justice and community power. I will continue serving Brent with those values at my core. 

 

Cllr Mary Mitchell 

Ward: Welsh Harp 

I’ve been a Labour party member for a decade, and a Labour councillor for four years. I have always believed that a Labour Party in power was worth fighting for. 

Instead the Labour Party has left the values that I stand for, and what the Party historically has stood for and achieved. 

In copying far-right policy and rhetoric on migration, scrapping jury trials and the draconian policing of protest, we have seen the Labour Party move to the right.  

In downgrading investment in the energy transition and deepening fossil-fuel interests, the party has gone against manifesto promises on tackling climate change and nature depletion.  

The appalling complicity in Israel’s genocidal actions in Gaza and suspension from the party of those who call this out is a stain on Labour’s historic record of free speech and human rights advocacy. 

Where positive change has happened it has been tinkering around the edges. Yet the challenges that we face as a nation, and locally, are so significant that we require systematic change. I no longer believe that the Labour Party is capable of, or willing to fight for, the level of change it historically brought about. 

In the Green Party, I find a party that recognises the interconnectedness of people and planet and the importance of radical systems change. 

I know many residents I represent will welcome this news. It is a privilege to be part of a new era of Green Politics in Brent, and to give Brent residents a real choice at the ballot box for a greener, fairer future. 

 

Cllr Harbi Farah (Former Cabinet Leader for Safer Communities) 

Wards: Welsh Harp 

For many years, the Labour Party was my political home. It was a place I deemed represented the ideals of social justice, equality, and collective well-being. I dedicated my public life and my hope to the vision of a fairer Britain, one where the most vulnerable were protected and the powerful were held accountable. 

Over recent years, however, an overwhelming and accumulating sense of disappointment has taken hold. This decision to leave the Labour Party is not one made lightly, but out of necessity and a deep-seated conviction that theparty no longer serves the principles it once championed. 

My primary disillusionment stems from what feels like a consistent pattern of broken manifesto promises. We were offered a transformative agenda, a genuine shift in power dynamics, but time and again, when faced with political headwinds or internal pressures, those commitments seemed to vanish such as welfare reform, scapegoating immigrant, race to the far right, scrapping jury trials and silencing internal debate dissent  

The gap between rhetoric and reality widened into an unbridgeable chasm. It became increasingly difficult to reconcile my values with a party that appeared to compromise on core principles for the sake of perceived electability, often leaving the most radical and necessary changes behind. 

I am leaving the Labour Party because my values have not changed; the party has. I still believe in a society structured around solidarity and genuine systemic change. I am a socialist, and I seek a political home that unambiguously champions these ideals. 

It is with this renewed clarity that I have decided to join the Green Party. 

In the Green Party, I have found a movement that not only understands the urgency of the climate crisis but also fundamentally embraces socialist principles. The Green Party’s commitment to public ownership, wealth redistribution, strengthening public services, and championing a universal basic income aligns precisely with the socialist vision of an equitable society.  

My hope now rests with the Green Party. I look forward to working alongside others who share an unwavering commitment to a compassionate, sustainable, and truly socialist future for our country. 

 

  

Cllr Tony Ethapemi 

Ward: Stonebridge 

 

I left the Labour Party because the party is no-longer the Party I joined over twenty-five years ago. Over time it has let me down in the values we shared - fairness, social justice, humanity and democracy. These principles guided my involvement and inspired my commitment, but I no longer feel they are upheld in the way I had hoped. The party I thought was broad and inclusive is no longer, it has lurched to the far right. 

 

The Green Party now reflects my values of social justice, humanity and fairness. I have in recent times been inspired by the socialist values imbibed by the leader of the Green Party and desire to serve the community as a Green Party member. 

 

 

  

Cllr Erica Gbajumo 

Ward: Brondesbury Park 

After nearly twenty years of membership, I have taken the difficult decision to resign from the Labour Party. Over time, I have felt that the party I joined has changed in both tone and direction, moving away from the values and principles that originally inspired my involvement.  

I have also grown increasingly concerned about the internal culture of the party, which in my experience has become more centralised and restrictive, leaving less space for open debate and genuine representation. 

My responsibility is to act with integrity and to put the residents I represent first. After careful reflection, I believe the Green Party offers a clearer and more consistent commitment to social justice, community wellbeing, and accountable politics. It is for these reasons that I will continue my work as a councillor under a new political home. 

New Green Group on Brent Council: We are proud to be part of the Green Party's vision of hope and providing a real alternative to the status quo

Zack Polanski Leader of the Green Party introduces the Brent Green Group

A statement from the newly formed Green Group of Councillors in Brent Council: Cllr Tony Ethapemi, Cllr Erica Gbajumo, Cllr Harbi Farah, Cllr Iman Ahmadi Moghaddam, Cllr Mary Mitchell. 15.12.25

 

Like thousands of others, we joined the Labour Party because we believed in building a fairer society. As councillors, we took that mission into Brent, determined to stand up for the people who placed their trust in us.

Between us we have over 80 years membership of the Labour Party and over 30 years experience as local councillors representing our communities and advocating for residents. We have now come to the realisation that we can no longer play that role effectively while remaining within the Labour Party.

We always knew being a party of government would put the principles and values of the party to the test, but we have watched as on every issue this government goes further away from the founding Labour Party principles of democracy, social justice and equality.

We have a huge amount of respect for many of our hard working Labour colleagues and party members in Brent, but we don’t feel that the party represents the values we hold any longer.

We want to represent a party that believes in radical overhaul of our systems to tackle the cost of living crisis and rising inequality, including wholesale reform of our tax system to ensure that the richest pay their way, rather than tinkering around the edges.

We want to represent a party that recognises that there is a not just a conflict, or even a humanitarian emergency, but a genocide taking place in Gaza, one with British roots and one that we are supporting through arms sales and criminalising peaceful protest.

We want to represent a party that recognises that people and planet are inextricably linked and that we need to do much more to tackle the biodiversity and climate crises. That this is not something that will only affect our children, but is a case of national security here and now.

We want to be members of a party that has a real and open conversation about national identity & community cohesion and that doesn’t scapegoat immigrants, a party that maintains its international obligations to asylum seekers and stands firm against racism.

We want to be members of a party nationally and locally that values diversity of opinion rather than a top-down structure with no space for difference, that silences and expels members who speak out against the party line. We want to shape politics differently in Brent.

We did not enter public life to serve a party machine - we entered it to serve our residents and we will not abandon that duty. That is why we are today resigning our membership of the Labour Party, and joining the Green Party, becoming the first Green Group of Councillors in Brent.

We are proud to be part of the Green Party’s vision of hope and to be providing Brent residents with a real alternative to the status quo. Because there is an alternative. An alternative to austerity. An alternative to a politics that tells you “there’s not enough money” whilst billions keep flowing into the pockets of the wealthy and we continue to chase economic growth at all costs.

Today marks a new chapter in local politics in Brent, rooted in accountability and a commitment to environmental and social justice.

We invite all who share this vision to work with us in offering Brent a real alternative. Together, we can build a Brent that puts people before profit, public good before private greed and hope before fear.

 

Brent Greens back Woodfield Special School strikers

 Brent Green Party has backed the NEU members striking NEU members at Woodfield Special School in Kingsbury. Like the Village School, Woodfield is run by an academy trust that picks on the lowest paid when making budget cuts. Low paid pupil support workers are often the backbone of a special school, close to parents and the community and very important to the pupils.

There have been 6 strike days so far and another three are planned this week with another 3 in reserve for after Christmas, if the management does not improve its offer. They want to cut workers' hours (and thus their pay) by 2-1/2 hours a week instead of their original 3-1/2 bid.

The school workers at a packed meeting unanimously rejected the offer.

 Brent Green Party's Trade Union Liasion Officer Pete Murry wrote to the Brent NEU:

Brent Green Party sends its support to National Education Union members at Woodfield Special School who have taken six days strike action and propose to take a further three days strike before the holiday, against the insufficient offer being made to them by the school's management trust. We call on the Trust to agree to the strikers'  reasonable and fair demands and  restore a full SEND education service to the communities that Woodfield school serves.

Lucy Cox of the NEU replied:

Thanks so much! I'll share your heartfelt solidarity on the picket line. Woodfield members have voted to escalate in January as management are continuing to put their interests above those of the students!

---

 

 

The latest Green News from Brent Green Party - campaigning to make Brent better for EVERYONE

 

Please sign the petition urging Brent Council to do its job and consider the impact on residents of the NHS proposed slashing of Urgent Treatment Centre hours

 

Brent Green Party member Zengha Wellings-Longmore has followed up  the party's appeal to Brent Council to scrutinise the NHS proposal to reduce hours at the Central Middlesex Urgent Treatment Centre with a public petition.  It calls on  Brent Council's Scrutiny Committee to consider the impact on local people of the proposal. 

Sign the e-petition here: 

https://tinyurl.com/protect-urgent-care

The move comes as the Care Quality Commission reports waits of up to 12 hours at Northwick Park A&E amd UTC. 

Do please sign the position as it is important that Brent Council properky represents its residents' interests in health as in all other matters affecting their quality of life. 

Brent Council Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee must consider proposals to reduce the opening hours of Central Middlesex Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre

We the undersigned petition Brent Council’s Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee to convene an urgent meeting of the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee to consider NHS proposals to cut the opening hours of the Urgent Treatment Centre at Central Middlesex Hospital by 3 hours a day, 21 hours a week.

In 2014, Central Middlesex Hospital A&E Department closed following a decision from the then Conservative Heath Secretary Jeremy Hunt. At the time, we were told that the opening of an Urgent Care Centre at Central Middlesex hospital would mitigate the loss of the A&E department. However, in 2019, the hours of the Urgent Care Centre were reduced when the overnight Service Centre was withdrawn. Six years down the line, we are faced with yet another reduction of the renamed Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC). The Centre currently closes at midnight but, if London NW University Healthcare Trust go ahead with their proposal, it will close at 9pm.

We the undersigned are therefore firmly opposed to a further reduction of NHS services that will undoubtedly put more pressure on Northwick Park Hospital A&E and UTC and will lead to fewer people getting the required medical attention as quickly as necessary and call on the current plans to reduce the UTC hours by 3 hours each evening to form the agenda of a specially convened Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee to be held as soon as possible.

We note that the 2019 proposals were considered by that Committee in July 2019 setting a precedent for the views of the Council and residents to be represented.

 Peoplewho live, work or study in Brent can sign the petition here: 

https://tinyurl.com/protect-urgent-care

Greens call on Brent Council to scrutinise proposed reduced hours (21 hours per week) at Central Middlesex Urgent Treatment Centre

 

Table from 2019 overnight closure proposal

 

In 2014, Central Middlesex hospital A&E department closed following a decision from the then Conservative Heath Secretary Jeremy Hunt. At the time, we were told that the opening of an Urgent Care Centre at Central MIddlesex hospital would mitigate the loss of the A&E department. However, in 2019, the hours of the Urgent Care Centre were reduced  when the overnight service was withdrawn.

 

Six years down the line, we are faced with yet another reduction of the now named Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Central Middlesex hospital. The Centre currently closes at midnight but, if London NW University Healthcare Trust go ahead with their proposal, it will close at 9pm.

 

The curtailing of the services at the Central Middlesex hospital is even more incomprehensible because it runs contrary to the evolution of the demographics in Brent. The Brent population went up by 9.2% between 2011 and 2021. This is a significant increase which is both higher than the population rise in England (+6,6%) and the population of rise London (+7.7%). How is Brent's growing and ageing population supposed to cope with a reduction in urgent care treatment?

 

Brent Green Party is therefore firmly opposed to a further reduction of the NHS services that will undoubtedly put more pressure on Northwick Park Hospital A&E and its Urgent Care Centre and will lead to fewer people getting the required medical attention as quickly as necessary, in the best-case scenario.

 

We call on the current plans to reduce the Urgent Treatment Centre hours by 3 hours each evening to be added as an urgent item to the Agenda of the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee taking place on Wednesday November 19th. Failing this an Extraordinary Meeting should be called to consider the issue as the next Scrutiny will not be until January 2026 – too late to affect the decision.  We note that the 2019 proposals were considered by that Committee on July 9^th 2019 setting a precedent for the views of the Council and residents to be represented.

 

The reasons for the reduction in hours put forward this time are almost the same as previously, gradually taking away the service from Brent and nearby boroughs.

 

Zengha Wellings-Longmore, Green Party candidate for the Harlesden and Kensal Green council ward said:

 

“The cut is now proposed at a time when the Urgent Care Centre and A&E at Northwick Park Hospital are encountering heavy demand with extremely long waits outside the recommended parameters.

 

At the same time the local population is expanding through developments at Old Oak and Park Royal Development Area, Grand Union, Neasden Stations, and Alperton. Alongside this are potential critical incidents at Wembley Stadium, Wembley Arena and on the Park Royal Industrial Estate.

 

It is vital that the impact of the reduction in service be considered and that the cost and long-term benefits of upgrading late night resources at the UTC be considered instead.

 

We note that the closure of the Hydrotherapy Pool at Northwick Park Hospital recently took place without any Scrutiny by Brent Council.”

 

 

Brent Greens condemn Sarah Pochin's racist remarks and back Dawn Butler's comments in Parliament

 

Brent Green Party strongly condemns the comments made by Reform MP Sarah Pochin on the depiction of Black and Asian people in advertising as entirely racist and call for her resignation. We support our Brent East MP Dawn Butler in her criticism of Pochin in Parliament.

 

The Green Party opposes the Labour Party and Dawn Butler MP on many issues and will continue to do so, but we are members of the many communities of Brent, and we find that Sarah Pochin’s remarks were prejudiced, offensive and hurtful.  Furthermore, they give encouragement to those political tendencies that seek to encourage hatred and prejudice as a false solution to the political, economic, and ecological problems that we all face.

 

It is accurate to see such remarks as motivated by racism and we are glad that Dawn Butler made this point in Parliament.

Brent Green Party statement on defections as membership soars

 

Brent Green Party leaflet session at Roundwood Lodge Cafe

Following the deselection of 8 Brent Labour councillors last month and ex-Labour Cllr Rajan-Seelan crossing the floor to join the Conservative Party today, we are aware that there is some speculation about current Labour Party councillors joining the Green Party - and potentially becoming the first Green Party councillors in Brent. 

We would be delighted to welcome anyone who shares our values of social justice, environmental responsibility, and community wellbeing to join a membership that has more than doubled since mid-October and continues to grow.

In this context, we think it’s important to inform everyone that joining the Green Party as an elected representative is a formal process of due diligence that may or may not result in a defection to the Green Party. 

The interested party needs to express an interest in joining the Green Party - they won’t be invited to defect to the Green Party. They also need to go through an interview process with the central Green Party office. 

Following this interview and a general scrutiny process, the central office will give their opinion about a possible defection and the local party will have a say in the matter as well. 

We have started our selection process for May 2026  and we’ll continue to do so over the coming weeks. 

If you wish to help with our election campaign please email contact@brent.greenparty.org.uk

The New Edition Is Out — See What Your Candidates Have Been Up!

The Brent Green Party's latest newsletter has just been published. Find out more about the local people standing up for Brent, our campaigning for Palestine both locally and further afield and all those coming together as a community on the issues facing local residents!

Brent Council consider pause on student housing in Wembley

 

 

A drastic slow down in conventional home building in Brent  and a boom in purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) has led to fears of an unbalanced community, particularly in the Wembley Growth Zone.

In 2023-25 planning permission was granted for 8,000 conventional homes in Brent but there were only 656 net additionas to housing stock. Delays were blamed on shortages of labour and materials and updated safety requirements. 

Meanwhile the PBSA figures (bedrooms) were:

Completed 6,257

Under construction 1,617

Permitted/approved 1,559

Awaiting decision  2,010

 In discussion but declared acceptable by planning officers 918

 

The Wembley Growth Area 

Most of these are in the Wembley Growth area LINK:

As identified however, the spatial distribution of PBSA provision has been focussed on Wembley Growth Area where to date 6058 bedspaces have been constructed. Currently 21.8% of the Growth Area’s population is students either in PBSA or in all student households renting homes.

 

A further 1617 PBSA bedspaces are under construction and planning committee has been minded to approve 759 more bedspaces, subject to an appropriate S106 obligation. Some sites are subject to current applications and others are also in relatively advanced pre-application discussions where the principle of PBSA has been identified as acceptable. If all delivered, a further 3500 student bedspaces could be supplied in the next 3 years, resulting in 9558 bedspaces in total. It is anticipated that 1871 additional dwellings will be completed in the area in the next 3 years. Students would in three years comprise 26.8% of the overall population.

 More than a quarter of the total population would be students and this is not considered appropriate in terms of a balanced community. A planning statement is proposed that would pause  PBSA building. The officers' report suggests this would enable building of conventional housing to catch up and the student proportion of the total population would return to an acceptable 20%.

As this is an interpretation of policy in relation to clarifying the position in terms of PBSA over-concentration/ supporting balanced and mixed communities, rather than writing new policies, it is suggested that the Council issues a policy position statement. Although not officially recognised in planning statutes as a Local Development Document or perhaps having the weight of a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), if consulted upon and following the same processes as a SPD, once adopted by the Council it can be regarded as a material consideration in the determination of planning applications with some weight.

 

This will provide clarity to prospective developers or investors in PBSA, particularly in Wembley Growth Area that, other than schemes already subject to approval or with clear advice from the Council through the pre-application process that the principle of PBSA is currently acceptable, the Council is unlikely to support their scheme in the short term.

 Given developers' enthusiasm for profit-making student accommodation and the limited legal status of the 'planning statement' we may well see appeals in the future if applications are refused. Backbenchers have expressed disquiet at the amount of student accommodation being approved versus the lack of truly affordable housing. Whether building of normal homes will actually accelerate is currently unclear but as an interm measures is proposed PBSA developers rather than providing a proportion of afford student accommodation would instead make a contribution to the building of affordable homes elsewhere in the borough.