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CllrJas Athwal
Leader of Redbridge Borough Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 June 2014
Deputy	Wes Streeting 2014-2015 Elaine Norman 2015-2018 Kam Rai 2018-
Preceded by	Keith Prince
Labour Group Leader on Redbridge Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 October 2011
Deputy	Wes Streeting 2011-2015 Elaine Norman 2015-2018 Kam Rai 2018-
Preceded by	Bob Littlewood
Personal details
Born	September 1933
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Residence(s)	Redbridge, London
Alma mater	London School of Economics
Occupation	Labour Party Member

Jas Athwal, is a British Labour Party politician, businessman and company director currently serving as the Leader of Redbridge London Borough Council.

Early life

Athwal was born in Punjab, India and lived there until his family relocated to Ilford when he was seven years old. In Ilford, his mother worked at home sewing ties, while his father worked at a tin factory.

He attended Mayfield School in Ilford, before studying at the London School of Economics. Following his graduation, he worked in the computer security industry, before starting his own business running children's nurseries in Redbridge, London.

Political career

He was elected to lead the Labour Group on 11 October 2011, with 15 of the 21 votes from the Redbridge Council Labour Group, beating Cllrs Stuart Bellwood and Andy Walker. This followed a vote of no confidence in the previous leader, Cllr Bob Littlewood.

In the May 2014 borough elections, Athwal led the Redbridge Labour Party to its first ever majority on the Council, gaining 11 seats to give Labour a total of 35 of the 63 seats, and thus winning control from the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.

At the May 2018 borough elections, Athwal similarly led the Redbridge Labour Party to another victory, securing 51 of the 63 seats, and increasing its majority by 15. This left the Conservative opposition with 12 councillors and wiped out the Liberal Democrats from the borough altogether.

In October 2019, Athwal was suspended from the candidate selection process for Ilford South due to an ongoing investigation due to allegations of sexual harassment.].

Political views

Brexit

Athwal supports a People's Vote on any Brexit deal. He took part in the People's Vote march on 23 March 2019.

Refugee crisis

Athwal supported the Dubs amendment for unaccompanied children in Calais and personally visited the Calais 'jungle' refugee camp.

Council housing

Athwal supports council housing, having built the first new council houses in 10 years in Redbridge after taking control of the council in 2014. He has a target to build 1000 new affordable homes over the term of this administration in an effort to end homelessness in Redbridge.

Criticism

Athwal has garnered criticism for his building of council housing and temporary accommodation in sites in the North of Redbridge, including green spaces in Hainault.

A petition was signed by over 3000 residents after Athwal's majority group voted in favour of plans to build temporary accommodation on the sites of two green spaces in Hainault. The plans were introduced in 2018 as a response to Redbridge Council's statutory duty to house 2,300 homeless households, a national reduction in local authority funding, and a consensus that the available hostel accommodation was unsuitable for families. Plans for both sites included preserving and developing the play areas and remaining green space.

Athwal was criticised on social media for blocking local residents on Twitter. Commenting on the decision, the Deputy Leader of Redbridge Council defended it with reference to incidents of abusive language, and invited blocked residents to contact Councillors through existing official channels.

In October 2019, the Party suspended Athwal due to complaints of sexual harassment received in September. The BAME Parliamentary Labour Party Group released a statement that it was "very concerned" about the suspension.

Personal life

Athwal is married with four children and lives locally, in Seven Kings.

References

1. ^ "About Jas". Jas Athwal. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
2. "Councillor Jas Athwal". Redbridge Council. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
3. Curtis, Joe (12 Oct 2011). "REDBRIDGE: Labour elects new leader". East London & West Essex Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
4. "Local elections: Labour wins control of Redbridge council for first time". Retrieved 2 May 2016.
5. "2018 Redbridge London Borough Council election", Misplaced Pages, 2019-08-25, retrieved 2019-09-13
6. Walawalkar, Aaron (21 February 2019). "Redbridge Council leader appointed crime lead for London Councils". Ilford Recorder. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
7. @Jas_Athwal (May 26, 2019). "A strong night for @redbridgelabour" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
8. @JonjoMcMahon (Mar 23, 2019). "Phenomenal day" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
9. "Equality & Diversity". Jas Athwal. 2016-03-31. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
10. "New Homes for Residents". Retrieved 2019-09-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
11. "Redbridge Council turning entrepreneur in effort 'to house our own'". Ilford Recorder.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
12. Walawalkar, Aaron. "Housing homeless in Hainault parks: 3,000-signature petition against plans handed to Downing Street". Ilford Recorder. Retrieved 2019-09-01.
13. Braddick, Imogen. "'Devastated' campaigners lose legal battle to stop container homes being built on Hainault park". Ilford Recorder. Retrieved 2019-09-01.
14. "Minutes of Redbridge Council Cabinet Meeting". London Borough of Redbridge. 11 December 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
15. "Appendices to agenda item 14, minutes of Redbridge Council Cabinet Meeting". London Borough of Redbridge. 11 December 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
16. "Council leaders respond after being slammed for blocking social media users". East London and West Essex Guardian Series. Retrieved 2019-09-01.
17. Braddick, Harriet Line & Imogen. "Redbridge Council leader suspended from Labour Party over 'serious allegation'". Ilford Recorder. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
18. Murphy, Simon (5 October 2019). "Labour reopens applications for safe seat after 'stitch-up' accusations". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
19. "Council leader suspended over 'serious allegation'". 5 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
20. Murphy, Simon (5 October 2019). "Labour reopens applications for safe seat after 'stitch-up' accusations". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
21. "Redbridge Council leader suspended over 'serious allegation'". BBC News. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
22. Rodgers, Sienna (5 October 2019). "Ilford South selection reopened after frontrunner suspended". Labourlist. Retrieved 6 October 2019.

• Living people
• Labour Party (UK) councillors
• 1963 births
• British politicians of Indian descent
• British Sikhs