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In 2024, Labour won a key seat in West London by taking Uxbridge and South Ruislip from the Conservatives at the General Election. Notably, the seat had belonged to Boris Johnson, and subsequently Steve Tuckwell.
Ahead of the local elections on May 7, Hillingdon Labour are hoping to replicate this success and take control of Hillingdon Council for the first time in 20 years. The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) sat down with Cllr Stuart Mathers, the leader of Hillingdon Labour, to discuss his plans for the borough, position on council tax and Heathrow expansion.
The LDRS invited all major parties to an interview, however received no response from Hillingdon Greens, Liberal Democrats, or Reform UK. The Conservative Council Leader was interviewed in a separate article.
We have laid out the manifesto pledges from each of the main parties in Hillingdon in a separate article. You also can see a full list of Hillingdon election candidates, broken down by ward.
See our full guide: London elections 2026 - everything you need to know
Cllr Mathers told the LDRS that first on his to-do list is council finances, something he says is "one of the key things that need to be sorted out". He added that he wants to ensure Hillingdon is a "transparent" council.
He also said on his to-do list in the first 100 days of a Labour administration would be to "take the flags down". When asked to clarify which flags he was referring to he said: "Look, we've got flags that we can be really proud of.
"When they're weaponised against different parts of the community and they are a reminder of division in the community, they have to come down… We've got the Union Jacks up on the lampposts for the Battle of Britain anniversaries, that's well and good, and that's how a flag should be used…
"But when they're weaponised in certain parts of the borough and we see spikes in hate crime, that's not something that a Labour-run council would be idly standing by to and tolerating."
Cllr Mathers concluded by arguing that a Labour Hillingdon Council would get "back to basics" by cleaning streets, making sure they are well lit and safer. He adds that scrapping the garden waste charge and fixing potholes are part of these plans.
The first pledge in Hillingdon Labour's manifesto is to scrap the garden waste collection charge. Cllr Mathers was asked how he could afford to scrap this whilst keeping all other promises such as low council tax.
He said: "I'm not entirely convinced the evidence for it being cost effective is shown when it comes to the garden waste collection charge… the way in which we see subscriptions falling and people are now getting a little bit savvy to sharing and there's nothing wrong with that."
He adds that whole service reviews will create savings to allow for promises to be kept.
On how he can keep council tax low, Cllr Mathers told the LDRS that there are "plenty of models across the country" where preventative services can create savings which allow for lower council tax rises. He says he does not think that any party can say it won't have to increase council tax.
Hillingdon Labour has also promised to "stand with residents" against a third runway at Heathrow Airport. On what tangible steps a Labour-led council could take to prevent this, he said that he plans to emulate Sadiq Khan's approach by actively engaging with community groups and the airport to demand improvements for residents.
He says residents can trust this position won't change, despite Heathrow expansion being national government policy. "The Mayor of London is opposed to Heathrow expansion, he hasn't been silenced by internal pressure.
"There are a number of MPs including our local MPs who want to see a better not a bigger Heathrow and you know there is disagreement in parties about the approach… we definitely have a heartfelt interest in the areas we represent."
On housing, Labour has pledged to create a housing charter to enforce universal standards across the borough, alongside licensing every HMO. Cllr Mathers also spoke about how a shortage of affordable housing pushes people into HMOs.
The LDRS asked how Labour could tackle the shortage of affordable housing, to which Cllr Mathers said: "You can look right opposite the civic centre is St Andrews, which is a shell of a development which has been going on for years, which has been stuck in… the civic centre in our case and and should have been progressed, where the council has not been open to development.
"And we're not talking about development on our precious green spaces and green belt. We're talking about development on sites that have got the green light. We're talking about development in areas that are brownfield where it might be or you know ex-industrial etc."
With all parties hoping to make gains in Hillingdon, Cllr Mathers was asked whether he would be willing to work in a coalition, and if there are any parties he would rule out working with. He said: "I can say categorically we're not going to be involved with parties that are hateful and are divisive.
"We won't be working with the likes of Reform. We are aiming to win the council, and we need the support of the public to do that."
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