The leader of a West London Labour Group has been deselected ahead of next year’s council elections, meaning he cannot stand for the Labour Party. The councillor has since resigned his membership and accused the party of “political skulduggery”.
Councillor Peter Curling, now ex-leader of Hillingdon Labour, is one of two, including Cllr Janet Gardner, to be deselected by the Labour Party. He took to social media to criticise the decision, in which he accused the party of using his time spent caring for his elderly mother against him.
In a post on X, Cllr Curling said: “After 23 years as a Labour Councillor, I resigned my Labour Party membership, & now sit as an Independent Councillor for Hayes Town Ward. Politics can be brutal and over the weekend I was deselected, by the Labour Party as a candidate for the 2026 local elections.
“Whilst I can take the political skulduggery, what I cannot take is that they used the fact I now have to spend time caring for my 92 year old mother, rather than spending every minute canvassing, against me.
“The party I joined 28 years ago was a kind caring and compassionate party, but it has changed. At least now I can look my disabled friends in the eye without feeling somewhat complicit in their anxiety over the devastating cuts to disability benefits.”
The Labour Party told the Local Democracy Reporting Service [LDRS]: “The Labour Party are in the process of interviewing all prospective candidates for the 2026 local elections in Hillingdon. The same criteria applies for all candidates.”
Councillor Janet Gardner, also representing the Hayes Town ward has also been deselected. She has said on X that she is “no longer good enough for Labour”, and says she was deselected because she “had an opinion on national [government] policies.”
She said: “Can I just say that I am pleased I resigned from the Labour Party/I joined in the 70s because I thought it was a party that cared about people/all people/not just some people/ I was a labour cllr since 1994 but was deemed not fit to serve again because of lack of political judgement, because I had an opinion on national govt policies on social media etc which impacted residents I support.
“And I didn’t do anything in the last [General Election], I am 74, registered disabled/I didn’t go door knocking/I helped distribute leaflets as did my family & friends. The housing coop (I started) I live in, had vote labour posters & flags outside every house (I live on main rd) but I didn’t make phone calls & that counted against me/it would appear its not what you do its who you know/I prefer helping residents not upping my political profile.”
The decision comes at a time when the national Labour government is attempting to push through benefit reforms which could see benefits including PIP cut for thousands of disabled people across the country. Both councillors have since criticised the party’s stance towards on disability benefits since resigning.
Hillingdon Conservatives have told the LDRS that the “personal ambitions of a small minority have driven out the borough’s long standing champion for domestic abuse” and the Labour Leader who has served in the role for almost a decade.
A spokesperson added: ““Once again, Hillingdon Labour are in complete chaos. The personal ambitions of a small minority, have driven out the Borough’s long standing champion for domestic abuse and the Leader of the Opposition who has served in the role for close to a decade.
“Whilst we may disagree with some of their politics, Peter and Janet have served for over 50 years and always demonstrated a huge commitment to Hayes and tried to champion the voices of their residents.
“What this demonstrates is that if this is how Hillingdon Labour treat their own, imagine how they will treat the residents of our Borough. They can’t be trusted to run their own party, let alone the council. Local residents can only rely on Hillingdon Conservatives to stand up for them and continue to put them first.”
A Labour Party spokesperson added: “The Labour Party has an appeals process, and it is very disappointing that both Cllr Curling and Cllr Gardner chose not to use that process. Hillingdon Labour will continue to represent and fight hard for all our residents.”
Philip is a Local Democracy Reporter covering Ealing, Hillingdon and Hounslow, with a focus on council decisions, housing, planning, licensing and community stories across west London.
