Jas Athwal has had a thoroughly miserable start to his parliamentary career. His name is forever going to be associated with ants and mould. That may be a bit tough on him – but it’s a lot tougher for his tenants who have had to endure such miserable living conditions.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
Athwal was born in Punjab and was seven when he moved to England with his family more than half-a-century ago. For 10 years, he was the leader of his local council on the outskirts of London – an important and influential role. In July 2024, he was elected as a member of parliament for his home area on the eastern fringes of London. The election saw a sharp rise in Sikh representation in the House of Commons and he’s now one of 11 Sikh Labour MPs.
But with election to Parliament comes much greater scrutiny, and that’s where Athwal has tripped up. As a council leader, he described himself as the renters’ champion – “rogue landlords, we are coming for you!” he once declared – and introduced a scheme of registration to tackle property owners who rent out sub-standard accommodation. But as a landlord himself, he seems to have failed to live up to the standards he was demanding of others.
Athwal rents out 15 properties – more than any other British parliamentarian. We know that because MPs have to register all interests and sources of income. A BBC investigation has revealed that a block of seven flats owned by Athwal is in conspicuously poor condition, with several tenants complaining of persistent black mould in bathrooms and ant infestations so serious that they at times invaded children’s clothing.
A reporter who visited the flats said the common areas were scruffy; the lights didn’t work; and the fire alarm seemed to be faulty. Tenants are reported to have said that they were warned by the agents, who manage Athwal’s property, that if they complained they could face eviction.
The full facts have still to be established, but the evidence suggests that Athwal may have acted as the sort of errant landlord that he and his party complain about so loudly. The new Labour government is committed to introducing a Renters’ Reform Bill to help ensure that tenants don’t have to put up with unhealthy living conditions, landlords who don’t carry out repairs and to meet their manifesto commitment of preventing “private renters from being exploited”.
Athwal’s immediate response to the revelation was to insist he had done nothing wrong: all his flats were registered as required; repairs were regularly carried out; no one was facing eviction. He relied on reputable agents to look after the rented properties on his behalf and they had not suggested anything was amiss.
Politicians sometimes believe that issuing a strongly-worded statement is sufficient to close down an unwelcome issue. That didn’t work for Athwal. He’s now been obliged to concede that his properties weren’t fully compliant with the registration he had himself introduced. He says he’s “profoundly sorry”. Tenants have been “let down” and will receive a personal apology. Repairs will be carried out “swiftly” and renters will be reimbursed for the cost of any repairs they have carried out themselves. He also continues to place blame on others, asserting that he’s “furious” about the agents who didn’t do their job properly. He’s now sacked these agents.
A local Conservative rival of Athwal has complained that the case shows “simply scandalous hypocrisy”. As political storms go, this is a small one. There’s no talk of criminal wrongdoing. Athwal may be under a shadow for a while, but this won’t end his political career.
All the same, there is a wider dimension to the row. Keir Starmer, the new Labour prime minister, has insisted that his government is committed to public service and expects all Labour MPs to behave with integrity. Athwal’s conduct is not of the same gravity as former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s cavalier disregard of the COVID lockdown rules that he had himself introduced. Nevertheless, it may be seen as having much the same effect – eroding public confidence in those who represent them.
Some politicians give the impression that little things such as rules and regulations are only for little people, and that the powerful don’t need to be burdened by such nuisances. If the new Labour government really wants to demonstrate that it can improve standards in public life and restore the reputation of the political class, then it must hope there are no more awkward stories concerning Labour MPs about to surface.
Andrew Whitehead is a former BBC India correspondent.
London Calling: How does India look from afar? Looming world power or dysfunctional democracy? And what’s happening in Britain, and the West, that India needs to know about and perhaps learn from? This fortnightly column helps forge the connections so essential in our globalising world.
