Today Cllr Trey Campbell-Simon (Walham Green) and Cllr Liz Collins (Ravenscourt) resigned from the Labour Party and joined the Green Party.
They cited Starmer’s shift to the right of politics and a toxic local Labour Party that doesn’t tolerate discussion or criticism, leaving residents ignored.
They become our first ever Green councillors on H&F Council. Joining because they are inspired by the green message that gives hope for the future but is honest about the challenges faced. Locally, the Greens are the only party standing up to protect social housing, standing up for renters who pay too much and get too little, and the only local party demanding the council divests from war and the genocide in Gaza.
Liz and Trey will continue to represent the people of Walham Green and Ravenscourt, now with greater freedom to speak the truth and stand up for what’s right.
Cllr Trey Campbell-Simon said “Nationally, Labour under Keir Starmer no longer represents the values that inspired me to join at 18. From his refusal to scrap the cruel two-child benefit cap, to proposed cuts to disability support, to his rhetoric on immigration including his Powellite ‘Island of Strangers’ speech, Labour is embracing a shift to the right and pandering to Reform UK in a way I cannot support.
Locally, the Labour administration in Hammersmith and Fulham is failing the people it was elected to serve. Council housing remains in a poor state, with serious issues of damp and mould persisting across the borough. Labour now operates with a supermajority on the council with the local Conservatives providing no meaningful opposition. Next May, the supermajority Labour administration will have been in control of the council for 12 years;
the Greens offer what Labour no longer does: honesty, accountability, and a commitment to social and environmental justice. I’m joining them because I believe residents deserve better and I refuse to be complicit in policies that harm the communities I was elected to stand with.”
Cllr Liz Collins said “I joined the Labour Party to make a difference in people’s lives. But I found a culture where councillors are punished for speaking up, and where residents’ voices are too often ignored. I was told not to listen to council tenants because they were ‘lucky’ to pay lower rents, and that elderly leaseholders had ‘enough money’ to cope with rising charges. That’s not the kind of politics I believe in.
Residents just want safe, mould-free homes. They want streets that feel safe, and they want to be heard. Instead, they’re hit with fines for minor mistakes, threatened over confusing recycling rules, and treated like a revenue source rather than human beings.
I stayed quiet at first, hoping for the greater good. But that good never came. H&F Labour says a lot but delivers little. The Green Party listens, acts, and stands up for those most overlooked. I’m proud to join a party that puts people and planet first.”
