Labour on the backfoot, as Newham Independents take another seat

On 18 September, the Newham Independents took another Council seat from Labour:

We are proud to announce that MD Nazrul Islam is the newest Newham Independent Councillor on Newham Council.

It was a stunning victory.

Newham Independents 913 votes
Labour 436 votes

We will continue to build on this victory going into the elections in May 2026💛 pic.twitter.com/HK0Tcg9sBY

— Newham Independents 💛 (@NewhamIndParty) September 18, 2025

The cost of the status quo is Newham Independents’ gain

Centrist politicians often claim they’re ‘pragmatists’, and that having strongly held beliefs is ‘student politics’. Increasingly, however, it’s clear our political establishment are the ones who most stubbornly follow their beliefs – namely the failing ideology of endless wars and corrosive neoliberalism.

We’re pointing this out, because the Newham Independents only exist because of Labour’s dogged determination to support Israel through its genocide of the Palestinian people:

Assured win for Newham Independents, a group formed by ex-Lab councillors who resigned over Gaza https://t.co/dBYud93iwH

— Edmund Griffiths (@EdmundGriffiths) September 19, 2025

As Stats for Lefties highlighted, the win for the Newham Independents was decisive:

🚨 NEW | Left-wing independents have GAINED another council seat from Labour in Newham

🟡 NI – 45% (+45)
🔴 LAB – 21% (-34)
➡️ REF – 16% (+16)

This is the third seat that Newham Independents have gained from Labour in by-elections since 2023. pic.twitter.com/FSk6zy7qkO

— Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️‍⚧️ (@LeftieStats) September 19, 2025

While the Newham Independents only hold three seats, this victory shows Labour are facing a real challenge in next year’s local elections. Infamously, Labour delayed several local elections this year, postponing them until 2026. The speculation was Labour feared a bad set of results; their polling has only gotten worse since then:

🚨 BREAKING | Labour plunge to 16%

➡️ REF – 34% (-)
🔴 LAB – 16% (-3)
🔵 CON – 16% (+1)
🟠 LD – 13% (+1)
🟢 GRN – 12% (-)

Via @FindoutnowUK, 17-18 Sep (+/- vs 10 Sep) pic.twitter.com/7f4lU8Om8B

— Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️‍⚧️ (@LeftieStats) September 18, 2025

It’s not just Newham, either. Following a successful by-election in Redbridge this past March, Vaseem Ahmed (chair of Redbridge and Ilford Independents) had this to say:

Ordinary working people rejected a party that no longer represents them.

Labour’s contempt for ordinary people was exemplified by their inaction towards former ward councillor and Ilford South MP, Jas Athwal, who as leader of Redbridge Labour Council, failed to licence his many rental flats, whilst enacting rules that forced everyone else to do so.

Labour has something of a growing problem with landlords, and this is likely what prompted Zarah Sultana to do the following:

Zarah Sultana has tabled an Early Day Motion calling for a ban on landlords serving as MPs.

👀 pic.twitter.com/tiL9ZSLWya

— Evolve Politics (@evolvepolitics) September 18, 2025

And speaking of Sultana and Your Party, former MP Claudia Webbe highlighted that the Newham Independents are supportive of the political movement:

Meanwhile, this is a stunning victory for @NewhamIndParty and supporters of https://t.co/h3fZLS0tFk https://t.co/TU9s5xyfT3

— Claudia Webbe (@ClaudiaWebbe) September 18, 2025

Problems all over

The problem Labour has isn’t that there are more and more parties to its left and right; the problem is Labour isn’t offering anything people want.

Politicians like the Newham Independents are filling a void left by an increasingly corporatised Labour. The way things are going, we predict Labour will be the fringe party 10 years from now.

Featured image via Newham Independents