Five councillors leave Labour for Greens

Five councillors at a north London council have defected from the Labour Party and joined the Greens.

Their decision means the Greens now have representation on Brent Council, but Labour still retain political control.

The Labour group now has 44 councillors, with the Greens on five. The Conservatives have five councillors and the Liberal Democrats have three.

The councillors who have joined the Greens are: Harbi Farah and Mary Mitchell, who represent Welsh Harp, Iman Ahmadi Moghaddam, who represents Wembley Park, Tony Ethapemi, who represents Stonebridge and Erica Gbajumo, who represents Brondesbury Park.

Zack Polanski, leader of The Green Party of England and Wales, said the defections are part of a "Green surge" in London.

He added: "Labour has abandoned any sense of progressive politics and is showing absolute cowardice in its doomed attempt to out-Reform Reform with the politics of division and scapegoating."

Across London, the Greens now have 41 out of the more than 1,800 councillors in the capital's 32 boroughs.