The two main political parties in a North London borough appear to be having a shake up ahead of next year’s local election following reports of more long-standing councillors being barred from running. In September, it was revealed that the London branch of the Labour Party had blocked eight sitting Brent councillors from seeking re-election at the 2026 local elections – set to take place on May 7 – to the surprise of some of those affected.
This time it is the turn of the local Conservative group, with the apparent de-selection of two of the Party’s most prominent faces. The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands that neither the current leader nor the deputy leader have been selected.
The Conservatives currently hold six seats on Brent Council – up from five after the recent defection to the Party by one of the de-selected Labour councillors, Cllr Rajan-Seelan – making them the official opposition. The group has three seats in Kenton ward, two in Queensbury, and the recently acquired seat in Wembley Central.
Earlier this month (November 4), Party members attended the third stage of selections for candidates in Kenton ahead of the upcoming elections. Two of those seats are currently held by the Leader, Cllr Suresh Kansagra, and Deputy Leader, Cllr Michael Maurice – however, it appears neither got the backing from members.
Instead, two new candidates were chosen – the Campaign Head of Conservative Friends of India, Sai Karthik Madabhushi, and Director of a local company, Anup Patel. The remaining sitting councillor in Kenton, Cllr Sunita Hirani, was re-selected.
The decision will have raised some eyebrows, with veteran Leader, Cllr Kansagra, having first been elected to the seat back in 1998. Cllr Maurice, who was elected in 2015, has also been a vocal participant in Planning Committee meetings.
Cllr Kansagra, Cllr Maurice and the local Conservative branch were approached for comment. None of them responded ahead of publication.
It comes after the local Labour Group had previously announced the de-selection of eight sitting councillors across the borough, which included the local branch’s Chief Whip and a Cabinet member. A Labour source at the time claimed the reason for the de-selections were a mystery and the decision is likely to result in “internal splits” forming within the party.
Rather than this being determined by the local branch as is typical, the selections were made by assessors including from the party’s London region and the party’s ruling body – the National Executive Committee (NEC).
Brent’s local Labour Party became the latest branch to be subjected to a Campaign Improvement Board (CIB) – a body established to help local party campaigns to improve their effectiveness with the aim of increasing their chance of winning elections. It includes carrying out interviews for selected candidates and deciding who is chosen and where they will stand.
The Labour source told the LDRS at the time that the move will “undoubtedly have an electoral cost”. The London Labour regional branch did not respond when approached for a comment.
