6 April 2022
Because the deeply flawed first past the post voting system used in the local elections in Hounslow favours the two largest political parties and penalises alternative parties, Hounslow Liberal Democrats and Hounslow Greens have agreed to stand aside in two wards in May’s local elections.
Consequently, there will be no Green Party candidates standing in the Chiswick Gunnersbury ward and no Liberal Democrat candidates standing in Brentford West ward.
Both parties believe that this is the best way to break through the two-party monopoly which first past the post inflicts on Hounslow. Both parties agree that Hounslow Council is less representative, and its decision-making is poorer, for not having the benefit of Liberal Democrat and Green voices in the Council Chamber.
However, this agreement in Brentford and Chiswick does not imply support for each other’s policies locally or nationally.
Both parties would like to thank all those who voted for them in the past in these wards and hope that their supporters in Gunnersbury and Brentford West will understand that the constraints of the electoral system have forced a difficult choice to get more diverse voices on Hounslow Council. Both parties will continue to fight hard to change the outdated electoral system.
