Labour Holds on in Cranford By-election
Party's vote share falls in one of its safest seats
Hira Dillon (second right) is the new councillor for the ward.
August 22, 2025
Labour has held onto the Cranford ward in the by-election with a reduced majority.
Hira Dillon was elected to Hounslow Council with 951 votes or 40.7% of those cast on Thursday 21 August. His predecessor, Sukhbir Singh Dhaliwal, who died earlier this year, had won the seat with a 60% vote share.
What was one of the ruling administration’s safest seats may now become a target for opposition parties next year. The Conservatives saw their vote share increase to 29.1% and Reform UK, who did not contest the seat at the last council elections, gained 17.3% of the vote, giving the two parties a combined vote share above Labour in a low turnout contest.
Council Leader Cllr Shantanu Rajawat said, "It is my immense pleasure to welcome our newest Labour Councillor for Cranford ward, Cllr Hira Dhillon.
"Congratulations Hira and well done to all team Hounslow for working so hard and a job well done!"
Speculation has been rife locally that a poor result might give impetus to a bid for a change of leader. The issue of candidate selection ahead of next May’s local election has resulted in major rifts within the group.
One local Labour party insider told us, “This result will be spun either way by both factions but it probably isn’t bad enough to be a platform for a leadership challenge. Certainly it is true that we were bailed out by Reform depriving the Tories of enough votes to nick the seat but Shan will point to the topline which shows a comfortable win on a low turn out."
| Cranford By-election Result - August 2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Candidate |
Party |
Votes | Share (%) | Change (%) |
Hira Singh Dhillon |
Labour Party |
951 |
40.7 |
-12.6 |
Gurpreet Singh Sidhu |
Conservative Party |
679 |
29.1 |
+10.0 |
Khushwant Singh |
Reform UK |
405 |
17.3 |
+17.3 |
Gurpal Singh Virdi |
Green Party |
155 |
6.7 |
-7.5 |
Miruna Leitoiu |
Liberal Democrats |
145 |
6.2 |
+6.2 |
* Gurpal Singh Virdi stood as an independent in the 2022 election gaining 15.1% of the vote
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