Hillingdon Decides: The 2026 Leadership Hustings for the Local Elections

Your Vote, Your Borough. Join the Hillingdon Alliance of Residents’ Associations (HARA) for a live digital leadership hustings at 19:00 on Tuesday 21st April 2026. Hear from the parties seeking to lead Hillingdon Council for the next four years.

Note: Registration is essential to receive your unique Zoom link and a recording of the session after the event.

Event Overview

Hillingdon Decides is a borough-wide digital leadership hustings for the 2026 local elections. Hosted by HARA, the umbrella organization for Residents’ Associations across Hillingdon, this event provides a neutral, non-partisan platform for residents in all 21 wards to hear directly from the parties asking for your vote.

When and where is it?

Our digital hustings will be held via Zoom and will start at 19:00 on Tuesday 21st April 2026.

Why Attend?

With postal votes being dispatched the same week as this event, this is the most critical time to understand the platforms of the parties asking for your vote.

• Direct Access: Hear the borough-wide visions and specific policy commitments of the party leaderships in one place.
• Neutral Platform: As a non-partisan umbrella group, HARA ensures every participating party receives equal time and a fair hearing.
• Accountability: This event serves as a stepping stone to hold the future administration to account for the promises they make during the campaign.

Key Election Timetable

Stay ahead of the deadlines to ensure your voice is heard this May:

• Voter Registration Deadline: Monday 20 April
• Postal Vote Application Deadline: Tuesday 21 April
• HARA Digital Hustings: Tuesday 21 April (7pm to 9pm)
• Polling Day: Thursday 7 May (7am to 10pm)

Submit Your Questions During Registration

We want this event to be driven by the issues that matter to you. The primary way to influence the agenda is to submit your question or topic during the registration process on Eventbrite.

• Thematic Questions: Pre-submitted questions will be grouped into common themes (e.g. planning, finances, waste collections) to ensure the most popular topics are addressed for the first hour of the discussion.
• Live Q&A: The second hour will feature questions submitted via the Zoom Q&A function during the session, with questions selected by being upvoted.

Who is Participating?

In accordance with Electoral Commission guidelines for a “non-selective” hustings, invitations were issued to all parties contesting at least one-third of the borough’s seats:

• Confirmed Attendance: 
  • Hillingdon Green Party
  • Hillingdon Labour
  • Hillingdon Liberal Democrats
  • Hillingdon Reform UK.

• Invited but Declined: Conservative Party
  (The party declined their invitation, stating a preference for direct door-to-door engagement with residents).

Represented by:

Sarah Green

Represented by:

Stuart Mathers
Sital Punja

Represented by:

Jonathan Banks
Max Peston

Represented by:

Andrew Retter
Teji Barnes

The Agenda

• 19:00 – Introduction and Welcome from the Chair
• 19:10 – Party Opening Speeches (90 seconds each)
• 19:20 – Thematic Questions (Based on resident registration topics)
• 20:00 – Public Q&A (Live questions via Zoom Q&A and attendee upvoting)
• 20:45 – Closing Summaries (2 minutes each)
• 21:00 – Meeting Closes

Frequently Asked Questions

After registering on Eventbrite, you will receive a confirmation email. Zoom Webinar access links are sent automatically to your registered email address 24 hours and 1 hour before the event starts. Please check your spam folder if you do not see the email in your inbox.

Yes. The best way to influence the agenda is to submit a question when you register. During the live event, you can use the Zoom Q&A feature to submit new questions and upvote others. The Chair will select the most popular and relevant topics for the candidates to address.

No. This is a Zoom Webinar, not a standard meeting. Audience microphones and cameras will be disabled throughout the event to ensure a professional and secure broadcast. Only the participating candidates and the Chair will be visible and audible on screen.

The Conservative Party was invited but declined, stating they prefer direct door-to-door engagement with residents. HARA remains a non-partisan platform, and the event will proceed with the other confirmed parties to ensure residents can compare different visions for Hillingdon’s leadership.

No. Under Electoral Commission rules, a hustings is non-selective if all eligible parties are invited. As invitations were issued to all qualifying parties, the event remains a valid, neutral platform for residents to hear from the leaderships of the parties that chose to attend.

Pre-submitted questions will be grouped into common themes (e.g. planning, finances, waste collections) to ensure the most popular topics are addressed. Live questions will be selected based on their relevance to borough-wide leadership using their popularity within the Zoom Q&A upvote system.

To ensure a focused leadership debate, invitations were limited to parties contesting at least one-third of the borough’s wards and fielding enough candidates to form a majority. As HIP is currently contesting fewer seats, they do not meet these specific borough-wide criteria.

We follow Electoral Commission guidelines for a non-selective hustings. Invitations are limited to parties contesting at least one-third of the borough’s seats and capable of forming a council majority. This ensures a focused discussion on borough-wide leadership and governance.

All registered attendees will receive an email following the event containing a link to the full video recording. We encourage you to register even if you cannot attend live, as this ensures you receive the recording and any follow-up summary materials.

We use the Zoom Webinar platform, which is more secure than a standard Zoom meeting. Attendees cannot share screens or disrupt the broadcast. Links are unique, can be used only on one device, and cannot be shared – free registration is mandatory to gain access to the meeting. The event will be managed by moderators who will monitor the session to ensure a safe and professional environment for candidates and the public.

The Hillingdon Alliance of Residents’ Associations (HARA) is a non-partisan umbrella group representing Residents’ Associations across the borough. We are not affiliated with any political party and our goal is simply to ensure an informed electorate for the local elections.

You may contact your local Residents’ Association with questions – the Hillingdon Alliance of Residents’ Associations (HARA) is a non-partisan umbrella group representing Residents’ Associations across the borough and all of our members are listed here.

You can also contact HARA directly by emailing civic@hillingdonresidents.org.uk and we will reply as quickly as possible – usually the same day.

We are not affiliated with any political party and our goal is simply to ensure an informed electorate for the local elections. If you have policy questions for any of the parties or candidates, please contact the political parties themselves. Links to each of their websites and manifestos (where available) are given – look for their logos on this page.

Community Connection

HARA is made up of the chairs of Hillingdon’s local Residents’ Associations. By opting in during registration, we can share your details with your specific local association so they can contact you directly about joining them for hyper-local updates and ways to get involved. This ensures your neighborhood’s voice is represented.

SECURE YOUR FREE TICKETS ON EVENTBRITE HERE

If you have a question not answered on this page, please contact civic@hillingdonresidents.org.uk