A long-time Labour member and would-be candidate for next year’s local elections in Brent has defected to the Liberal Democrats, citing a “toxic culture” at the local level. In one incident, she claims to have been told that she was the wrong ethnicity to stand for election in her own constituency before being selected in a different one.
Fiona Mulaisho, a long-serving member of the Labour Queen’s Park Branch in Brent, has resigned from the Party after suggesting it no longer represents her values. She has now been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Queen’s Park ward ahead of next May’s local elections.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Ms Mulaisho described experiencing “intimidatory behaviour”, including being subjected to a discriminatory remark when she applied to be a candidate at the previous elections. Ms Mulaisho claimed she was told by a senior member of the local Party that, as a black woman, she was the wrong ethnicity to be elected in her local constituency.
Rather than in her home area of Queen’s Park, again for next year’s local elections Labour selected Ms Mulaisho to stand in Kenton ward – where she has no affiliation or local knowledge. She said: “I was willing, at the time, to put the comment behind me as I very much wanted to represent the ward where I’ve lived for 25 years.
“But after being overlooked on three occasions in favour of individuals who had hardly been involved in local campaigning or community work, I suspected the attitude was widely shared and I felt I had to speak out.”
Brent Labour and London Labour were approached for comment but did not respond ahead of publication.
Ms Mulaisho recently decided that she could no longer stay in a party where, at the local level, she feels “open debate was discouraged, scrutiny was resisted, and tribal party loyalty was too often put ahead of residents’ interests”.
She said: “I felt that Labour locally was more interested in working for the interests of its elected members than the people it represented. I want to work in a culture that values honesty, challenge, and respect. That’s why I’m joining the Liberal Democrats.”
At next year’s local elections, set to take place on May 7, Ms Mulaisho, who is the Chair and Co-founder of the Kensal Rise Residents’ Association, will be standing as a candidate in Queen’s Park for the Liberal Democrats.
The local Party Chair, Virginia Bonham-Carter, told the LDRS: “We are delighted to welcome Fiona to the Brent Liberal Democrats and are proud to have selected her to stand in Queen’s Park ward, where she lives, and has spent years working hard in the community.”
Grant Williams is a journalist and Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Reach PLC, reporting on local government, politics and community issues across London. As part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he has contributed to Harrow Online, covering council decisions, housing developments, transport, planning matters and stories affecting local communities across Harrow and Brent.
