Local elections profile: Hounslow

Ahead of the local elections on Thursday 7 May, we have produced short guides to London's 32 boroughs.

Where is it? The London Borough of Hounslow borders Hillingdon, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham and Richmond upon Thames.

What's it like? It is one of the westernmost boroughs in the capital, and in part straddles the north bank of the Thames. It stretches from Chiswick in the east to the border with Surrey to the west, with dense urban pockets as well as leafy riverside spots.

Neighbourhoods: Major towns include Hounslow, Chiswick, Brentford, Isleworth, Feltham, and leafy neighbourhoods of Osterley, Bedfont, Cranford, Hanworth, Heston and Gunnersbury.

Places of interest: Hounslow is home to several historic country estates, such as the Georgian Osterley Park and House, Syon House, Boston Manor House, Chiswick House and Gardens, as well as Gunnersbury Park and Museum, Hounslow Heath, the London Museum of Steam and Water and Fuller's Griffin Brewery.

Pub quiz fact: The first flight from the UK to Australia departed from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome in November 1919. The journey took 27 days and 20 hours.

Population: (2024 estimate): 299,424, according to official data.

Demographics: According to the 2021 census, 44% identify as white, 37% as Asian, 7% as black, 5% as mixed race and 2% as another ethnic group.

Average property price: According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average house price in Hounslow was £513,000 in December 2025.

Average monthly rent: The ONS reported that the average monthly rent in January 2026 in Hounslow was £1,902.

Council tax: Band D council tax in the borough for 2026/27 is £2,185.

Transport: Chiswick is served by the District line, while Osterley and Hounslow are on the Piccadilly line. Other parts of the borough, such as Brentford and Isleworth have rail services into London Waterloo.

Transport for London operates eight Tube stations, one London Overground station and around 680 bus stops in the borough.

Local history: Originally part of Middlesex, the area was largely agricultural for centuries, with small villages such as Hounslow recorded as early as the Domesday Book of 1086. Brentford became an important medieval market town after a bridge was built over the River Brent in the late 13th Century, strengthening local trade.

Hounslow Heath was still a forested expanse in the 19th Century, where highwaymen targeted travellers heading into London. But the introduction of the railways catalysed gradual suburban growth, which eventually transformed the area.

From the 1970s onwards, Hounslow underwent various regeneration schemes.

Improved transport links, including upgrades across the borough, have further shaped modern Hounslow, reinforcing its role as a key gateway between London and Heathrow Airport.

What is the electoral history of the borough? Hounslow has been Labour controlled for most of its 61-year existence, apart from a short period of Tory control at the end of the 1960s and no overall control 20 years ago.

Since 2010 Labour has increased its number of councillors at each election.

What happened in 2022? The turnout was 33.4% and there was a 2.2% swing from Labour to the Conservatives.

Labour: 52 seats (+1)

Conservatives: 10 seats (+1)

Boundary changes had increased the number of seats from 60 to 62.

Since the election there have been two defections from Labour to the Conservatives, two defections from the Conservatives to Labour and one defection from Labour to the Greens.

Five former Labour councillors now sit as independents and an independent candidate won a by-election seat from Labour in March 2025.

Professor Tony Travers, of the London School of Economics, said: "Hounslow has strong Labour control at the moment, it has Conservative presence there as well.

"On the basis of polling and what we can see from the rest of London, Hounslow looks as if Labour will probably hold it, but only just."

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