Luton Labour Councillors

06/09/2026

05/09/2026

🚨Important statement 👇

Dear all,

We just wanted to reach out quickly to reassure members here who may have heard about games and manoeuvring at the Town Hall and possible change of political control about the role of your African and Caribbean representatives on the Council.

All 4 Black councillors on Luton Council remain within Labour, the Party we were elected for, and none of us have been involved in talk of defections, changing Council control, or suddenly re-presenting ourselves under different political colours.

We remain committed to fighting for our communities and focused on continuing recent improvements we have seen, not least at street level following the better investment we have now had through from the Labour Government, and we will continue to work closely with our MPs on matters of concern to residents.

Labour remain the Only Party or Group on Luton Council to have anyone from an African or Caribbean background, as other parties did not stand people from our community where they could win.

You know where we are, know who we are, and we are not heading off anywhere regardless of what may or may not happen on the wider Council.

Please do get in touch with any concerns we can help with just as you normally have.

With best wishes

Councillor Baba Ajisola, Northwell Ward
Jacqui Burnett, Poets Ward
Charmaine Isles, South Ward
Maria Lovell, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety, Women and Equality, Leagrave Ward.

05/09/2026

Our Councillors in Luton North and MP Sarah Owen out on the Labour doorstep today picking up casework and addressing residents concerns

05/09/2026

The Luton Liberal Democrats have no mandate from the people of Luton to lead the council. At the local elections in 2023 they only received half the amount of seats received by the Labour Party.

The only way they've managed to do this is through grubby deals with Tories and Reform and the independents. In their desperate bid for power, they caste their principles aside, to empower the Tories and Reform.

The voters of Luton didn't vote for this.

04/09/2026

Councillor Jacqui Burnett speaks about the importance of the health and safety of residents in Bury Park, highlighting the words of the fire and rescue service on the need to tackle illegal parking and how a red route would help.

The opposition meanwhile seek to exploit the issue for political gain

03/09/2026

🚨Important for Luton residents 👇

Labour Responds to Coalition of Chaos Vote of No Confidence

At tonight’s full council, the coalition of Liberal Democrats, the Independent Alliance, the Conservatives and Reform decided to table a vote of no confidence in the Labour administration.

Eight councillors who were elected as Labour councillors decided to defect and join the Independent Alliance without any mandate from their electorate to do so.

Despite promising to continue to work with the Labour administration they were elected as part of, the councillors have now decided to team up with the Liberal Democrats and rightwing political parties including the Conservatives. In doing so, they risk derailing the progress Luton is making and handing power back to the parties who were responsible for years of national austerity.

While others play politics and put personal ambition before Luton, Labour will remain focused on what matters: standing up for Luton, delivering for our residents and building a fairer, stronger Luton.

Luton Labour has secured the future economic growth of our town. From achieving consent to grow our airport to 32 million passengers, to seeing the new power court Stadium and the Stage developement at the heart of our town become a reality, we are delivering the homes, jobs and regeneration our town needs. This is what a Labour council, working in partnership with a Labour government, delivers.

Responding to the vote of no confidence, Labour Council Leader Tahmina Saleem, said:

“This is not what residents voted for. Luton deserves better. Luton elected a Labour council; not chaos and individual egos. Instead of playing self-serving games these councillors should resign their seats and let their residents decide who represents them.

“The general public will not look kindly to anyone who cosies up to the Conservatives who took over £160 million from Luton, during a decade of austerity, and Reform when their senior politicians lie about our town and our people.

“I fully intend to challenge this vote of no confidence. Whatever games others choose to play, my focus remains exactly where it has always been: delivering for Luton and standing up for our residents.”

03/09/2026

No child or family should ever have to miss out on summer activities. Over the summer our Labour council delivered a number of free activities for children and families in the town centre.

Our Cabinet Member responsible for town centre regeneration, Basit Mahmood, explains why we were determined to ensure we could provide free summer activities for children and families in our town. Our Labour council, delivering for Luton.

01/09/2026

Our Labour council wants Luton Town Centre to be a safer and more welcoming place for everyone to enjoy.

We know there are significant challenges around drug and alcohol use and antisocial behaviour.

They won't be solved overnight, and they can't be solved by the council alone.

In our latest Getting It Done video, Councillor Maria Lovell introduces our new Management Intervention Team – bringing together a range of services across multiple agencies.

The new team is focused on supporting some of our town’s most vulnerable people – many of whom are living with complex social and health issues.

28/08/2026

🚨 Statement on devolution from Luton Labour council.

Luton Labour Council has written to Government to confirm its support for a devolved Strategic Authority and Mayor covering Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK).

As a Labour group, we recognise that putting power back into the hands of communities to bring transformative change is important and we agree with our Prime Minister that decentralising power and putting it in the hands of people who can use it best is the right step.

Our Labour Council believes BLMK offers the best opportunity to strengthen the local economy, create quality jobs for local people and deliver better outcomes for communities across the area. Working with a Labour government we believe BLMK would give us the best opportunity to do this.

The four councils already have a strong track record of working together, including on plans for the area’s future growth and development. The Government has already identified BLMK as the proposed area for this work, further strengthening the case for closer collaboration.

This builds on the many ways services already work across the area, including long-standing joint health and care services, and police and fire services operating across the wider Bedfordshire area.

As a Labour council we back devolution and the decentralisation of power which will bring together the area’s major economic assets, including London Luton Airport and the planned Universal UK development in Bedford, creating stronger connections between investment, skills, jobs and economic growth.

A recent analysis by Metro Dynamics found that the BLMK economy could be worth an additional £52 billion by 2035 if the region returns to its pre-pandemic rate of economic growth, supported by greater local control over skills and investment.

Our Labour council is supportive of a mayoral model and is ready to work with Government and its local authority partners to move the process forward. Further detail on the proposed fiscal devolution is expected from Government in the autumn.

Cllr Tahmina Saleem, Leader of Luton Council, said: “We believe a BLMK Strategic Authority gives us the best opportunity to unlock the potential of our area and deliver lasting benefits for our residents.

“We already have strong partnerships across Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes, and devolution gives us the opportunity to build on that collaboration and make the most of the economic strengths of our area.

“By bringing together our major economic assets, investment and skills, we can create better opportunities for our residents, support good jobs and drive inclusive growth which will benefit everyone.

“We are supportive of a mayoral approach and are ready to work with Government and our local authority partners to make the most of this opportunity.

“We will of course look closely at the detail of any proposed settlement to ensure it delivers the right outcomes for Luton."

26/08/2026

🚨Important update for businesses affected by the fire on Selbourne Road. Statement from Cllr Basit Mahmood, portfolio holder for Inclusive economy and regeneration: 👇

"I completely understand and appreciate this has been a very difficult time for businesses affected by the fire, who have invested so much in setting up their businesses which serve customers from both Luton and beyond. Today I once again met with officers to receive an update on the latest developments and to ensure we do all we can as a council to support businesses.

As a council, we want to reassure businesses that the council is listening and is doing what it can to support businesses through this difficult period.
The council’s absolute and overriding priority has been to make the area safe. And we have been working extremely hard to do this as quickly as possible.
Access to the area has now been restored, now that the building owner’s contractors have removed unsafe sections and cleared the site so that the area can be made safe.
We recognise the significant impact the fire and the temporary restrictions had on local businesses and we understand the concerns raised about the disruption to trading and the financial losses experienced by some businesses.

In the interim, we are carrying out the following to support businesses affected by the fire:
Due to the exceptional circumstances, the council can provide temporary business rates relief for eligible businesses who have been unable to operate from their premises for an extended period of time as a result of the incident.
The council’s Economic Growth Team is available to provide advice and support. The team can help by:
-Signposting businesses to relevant business support and advisory services,
for example:
o WENTA – offer free one to one business advice sessions covering areas like promotion of your business and financial management
o South Midlands Growth Hub – also offer free one to one professional and independent advice
Providing support responding to requests for information from insurance companies, where appropriate.
Commissioning one-off advice sessions tailored to the needs of businesses reopening.

If you would like to speak to a member of the Economic Growth Team, please contact Niall Gleeson on 07709 852305 or at [email protected]