Hounslow Labour have held the Cranford ward after a by-election took place on Thursday, 21 August. The by-election was held following the death of Councillor Sukhbir Singh Dhaliwal in June.
Hira Singh Dhillon was duly elected as the new ward councillor, as Labour held off the Conservative candidate, Gurpreet Singh Sidhu. Cllr Dhillon won with an 11 per cent majority.
Labour received a total of 951 votes from a total of 2,355 cast, with the Conservatives receiving 679. The Leader of Hounslow Council, Cllr Shantanu Rajawat, took to social media to congratulate the newly elected Cllr Dhillon.
He said: “Over the moon to welcome Cllr. Hira Dhillon… as the newest Ward Councillor for Cranford. A strong advocate for Cranford and the Borough.”
In third place was the Reform UK candidate, Khushwant Singh, with 405 votes. Ahead of the polls, Reform were feeling quietly confident about securing a good result in Cranford.
Mr Singh was followed by the Green Party in fourth place with 156 votes, and the Liberal Democrat candidate finished in last place with a total of 145 votes.
This result was unlikely to change the political landscape in Hounslow Council. Labour maintain a strong hold on the council, with 51 of the 62 seats – a majority of 19.
Turnout was low at 21.65 per cent, although this is not uncommon in council by-elections. In the 2022 full council elections, turnout in the ward was 30 per cent.
There were a number of votes rejected by the returning officer. Of the 19 rejected votes, nine people voted for more than one candidate, one person voted in a way which could identify them, and nine left their ballot paper either unmarked or unclear.
Former Cllr, Sukhbir Singh Dhaliwal sadly passed away after a long illness on June 18, 2025. At a meeting of full council on July 22, councillors across all parties paid their tributes to the long-serving councillor.
Cllr Dhaliwal moved to Cranford in 1975, where he raised his family and lived for the rest of his life. He worked as a bus conductor and a bus driver for many years, whilst maintaining life long support for the trade union movement.
He was first elected in 1994, when he served for two terms until 2002. He served a second term until 2010, before taking a sabbatical before his re-election in 2016.
Cranford by-election results in full:
Hira Singh Dhillon (Labour Party) – 951
Miruna Leitoiu (Liberal Democrats) – 145
Gurpreet Singh Sidhu (Conservative Party) – 679
Khushwant Singh (Reform UK) – 405
Gurpal Singh Virdi (Green Party) – 156
