Death of party which once held balance of power in Hounslow

A residents group which once held the balance of power on Hounslow Council has disbanded after more than 22 years.

The Independent Community Group (ICG) held all six seats in Isleworth and Syon from 2006-10, during which time it teamed up with the Conservatives to form a ruling coalition and end many years of Labour control.

But it lost all those seats in 2010 - a result it blamed on the general election being held the same day - and failed to regain any at the 2014 local elections.

Former ICG organiser Phil Andrews said the group was calling it a day as its approach had become "dated and predictable" and new methods were needed to challenge and hold the council to account.

"We are clearly entering into a new phase. Where we had hoped to persuade the powers that be that engagement with an active and organised community could be mutually beneficial, what we appear to have done is to have hardened attitudes," he said.

'ICG approach had become dated and predictable'

"Their (Hounslow Labour Party) response to losing elections to local residents was to draft in outside help, using the sophisticated national machine at their disposal to smother local efforts.

"And in office their attitude has been to deceive, coerce and bully rather than to listen, as the disgraceful harassment of community activist Paul Slattery in Brentford has demonstrated.

"In response, the community has mobilised, but that mobilisation has risen organically from a variety of sources rather than from one organised body. That mobilisation needs to be supported and its momentum maintained. To be frank the ICG approach had become dated and predictable."

The group claims credit for helping change the "mindset" of the local population and giving them the belief they can make a difference by challenging council decisions.

Group held council seats from 1998 to 2010

It cites protests over the introduction of wheelie bins, for which Mr Slattery was arrested; the controversial closure of Church Street in Isleworth; and plans to build schools on open space as evidence of this.

It also says its campaigning helped secure a promise from the Labour-run council that local libraries and community centres would never be closed under the party's rule.

The ICG was initially formed in 1994 as the Isleworth Community Group and won its first council seat in 1998, in Isleworth South.

In 2002, it won all three seats in the Isleworth ward and in 2006, after a change of name, it claimed another three seats in Syon.

The group said it is in the process of de-registering with the Electoral Commission and any remaining funds in its account would be donated to local community groups.

Hounslow Council and the Hounslow branch of the Labour Party declined to comment.