Hounslow Citizens Hosts Pre-election Roundtable
Party leaders make pledges on housing, fair pay and community spaces
Cllrs Peter Thompson, Guy Lambert and Shantanu Rajawat. Picture: Solape Tunde-Dauda
April 24, 2026
Community leaders from across Hounslow gathered this week for a well-attended pre-election roundtable hosted by Hounslow Citizens, where the three prospective council leaders set out their positions on housing, work and community space following months of grassroots listening across the borough.
The event on Tuesday (21 April), held at St Mary’s Church in Spring Grove, brought together residents, faith groups and civic organisations to hear how candidates would respond to the priorities identified by local people. The evening focused on three central themes: improving housing standards, expanding access to secure and fairly paid work, and ensuring that community groups have the space they need to serve their neighbourhoods.
All three candidates — Shantanu Rajawat, Guy Lambert and Peter Thompson — offered commitments on the issues raised. They agreed to support the introduction of a borough-wide selective licensing scheme aimed at improving standards in the private rented sector, to work with Hounslow Citizens on delivering a Warm Homes Plan, and to help run renters’ rights workshops so that tenants are fully informed about their legal protections. They also committed to working with local employers to double the number of accredited Living Wage Employers in Hounslow by the end of the next council term and to explore the Living Hours standard as a way of addressing insecure work. In addition, each candidate pledged to support Paniym City Church in securing a long-term space for its growing congregation and community programmes.
The audience at the meeting. Picture: Solape Tunde-Dauda
The tone of the evening was set by the host institution’s vicar, Rev. Elis Matthews, who closed the meeting by reflecting on the value of shared dialogue. He told attendees that the roundtable had created “level ground” where stories could be exchanged and solutions could begin to take shape, adding that genuine listening helps communities move from “you and I” to “we and us.”
Councillor Guy Lambert later commented on the session, noting that he had met with Hounslow Citizens in advance of the event and that the organisation had presented clear priorities around housing, fair work and community space. He said that all candidates had expressed support for those aims during the roundtable. He also reflected on progress made in recent years, including work on housing through the council-owned Lampton Group and the introduction of new legislation relating to private rental licensing.
The roundtable forms part of Hounslow Citizens’ wider effort to bring residents and decision-makers together ahead of the local elections. Organisers said the commitments secured on the night demonstrate the strength of community organising in the borough and the willingness of candidates to engage directly with the concerns raised by local people.
The election takes place on Thursday 7 May 2026. Photo ID is required to vote. For more information, visit hounslow.gov.uk/elections.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |