Blow to Lib Dems as Riverside councillor defects to Labour

The Liberal Democrats in Maidenhead have suffered a defection to Labour – dealing a political blow to the party.

Riverside councillor Kashmir Singh has announced he is leaving the party to become the sole Labour representative within Windsor and Maidenhead council.

The move leaves the Liberal Democrats with 21 seats on the council – the exact number needed for an overall majority on the local authority.

He pledged to speak out on housing, increased NHS services and local government finances and hit out at his former party’s handling of the Maidenhead Golf Course saga.

At a full council meeting in July, the Liberal Democrat-controlled council said it was ‘all-but-impossible’ to pull out of the deal to build homes at the golf course due to contractual obligations.

But councillor Singh hit out at the council’s stance and said the borough should ‘not be held hostage’ by the actions of the previous Conservative administration.

Councillor Singh said: “At the last council meeting I ignored the Lib Dem whip and voted against their motion to proceed with the development of Maidenhead Golf Course.

“I was sickened by the blame shifting tactics adopted in that debate.

“Every finance report produced since the last borough elections has stressed the need to harvest capital receipts from development. I now understand that this was what they always intended, even for the golf course.

“Their mock horror at the tactics of the previous administration in waiving a clause that could have prevented it masked a hidden delight that they were spared the political inconvenience of doing the same themselves.”

Riverside’s new Labour councillor said the local authority must focus on building homes on the ‘greybelt’ – a term used by the Labour Government to described low-quality greenbelt land.

He said the council’s finances remain in a ‘chaotic state’ and require better forward planning.

Council leader Simon Werner said he considered councillor Singh a ‘good friend’ and was saddened by his departure.

He added: “Over the last six years Kashmir and I have worked really hard to get him elected in Riverside – producing leaflets, helping with delivery and surveying and I have always found him a pleasure to work with.”