Second Hounslow Labour Councillor Defects to Conservatives
Karamat Malik cites local and national reasons for switch
Cllr Karamat Malik. Picture: Hounslow Council
December 17, 2025
Cllr Karamat Malik, who represents Heston West Ward on Hounslow Council, has announced he is leaving the Labour Party to join the Conservatives, becoming the second Labour councillor to cross the floor in just six weeks.
Cllr Malik, first elected in 2022, has logged more than 400 casework issues for residents since taking office. He currently serves on the council’s licensing committee and Housing Scrutiny Panel.
Explaining his decision, Cllr Malik cited ongoing scandals involving senior Labour councillors and what he described as financial mismanagement both locally and nationally saying the party had “forgotten the core reason that we were elected – to serve residents and improve our borough.”
He added, “Locally and nationally, the Labour Party is driving our community and the country to the brink. Their disastrous handling of the budget a few weeks ago, and ongoing financial mismanagement locally around the Lampton Group, shows they cannot be trusted with our finances. The Hounslow Labour Group has been so distracted by internal scandals that they’ve forgotten the core reason that we were elected – to serve residents and improve our borough.”
His register of interests state that he is a British Airways employee and a member of the Unite union.
In July, John Dale of Brentford Today reported that he was on a hit-list of sitting councillors who the current council leader, Shantanu Rajawat, who is also his ward colleague, did not want to see standing again. Currently, the party’s National Executive Committee controls candidate selection in the borough but it is believed to be significantly influenced by recommendations from the leader.
Cllr Malik’s move follows the defection of Cllr Vickram Grewal six weeks earlier. Cllr Malik said Cllr Grewal’s decision prompted him to reflect on who best represents the borough’s interests, praising what he described as the Conservative Party’s renewal under Kemi Badenoch and the work of local Conservative councillors.
Welcoming Cllr Malik, Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group and borough campaign chair, Cllr Gabriella Giles, said, “Cllr Malik is an extremely hardworking councillor, and we are delighted to welcome him to the local Conservative Party. He has taken a principled stand against Labour economic mismanagement both locally and nationally. This Labour Council is so distracted by internal scandals that they’re now actively harming residents and our borough.”
She added that his arrival strengthens the Conservative team ahead of next year’s elections, where residents will have the chance to “back common-sense local Conservatives who will deliver for our borough and restore trust in local government.”
A local Labour Party spokesperson said, “It must be a complete coincidence that Cllr Malik’s decision to join the Conservative Party has come just weeks after he failed to be reselected to stand again for the Labour Party.
This defection sends a clear message- the Hounslow Tory Party clearly have significantly lower standards than the Labour Party.”
Labour has now lost five councillors since the beginning of the year due to defections and a by-election loss, but they have seen Cllr Ranjit Gill, who represents Chiswick Gunnersbury ward, join them. Cllr Hina Mir is currently suspended following the failure of her appeal over a conviction due to her employment of someone who was not entitled to work in this country.
We have asked the Labour party in Hounslow for comment.
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