Jasbir Singh Athwal[1] (/ˈdʒæz ˈæθwɒl/,[2] born September 1963) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the MP for Ilford South since July 2024.

[21][22][20] The timing of Athwal's suspension on the evening before the vote, was publicly questioned by neighbouring MP, Wes Streeting, since Tarry had close links to Jeremy Corbyn.

[25][26] On 10 October 2022, Athwal was selected as the Labour prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for the Ilford South constituency at the 2024 election, defeating the incumbent Sam Tarry, by 499 votes to 361.

In November 2024, Athwal voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes to legalise assisted suicide.

In 2019 a petition was signed by over 3000 residents, in opposition to the Labour administration's plan to build temporary accommodation on the sites of two green spaces in Hainault, in the north of the borough.

[35][36] 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.

[40][41] He has described himself as a "renter's champion", and says he will not rent to tenants in receipt of housing benefit "to avoid conflicts of interest with his role as the local council leader.

"[42][43][40] Athwal has been described as a slum landlord[44][45][46][47] after the BBC reported in August 2024 that he "rents out flats with black mould and ant infestations".

[43] The BBC report also revealed other problems with some of Athwal's rental flats including non-compliance with the required selective property licence (introduced by Athwal himself), dirty communal areas with lights not working, fire alarms hanging loose from the ceiling and slow or no response to complaints.

[43] Prime Minister and Labour leader Keir Starmer said the state of the properties was "unacceptable" and that Athwal should put it right quickly, but rejected calls to remove the party whip from him.

[48] Housing minister Matthew Pennycook criticised Athwal the following week when he introduced the new Renters (Reform) Bill, saying relying on a letting agent was not sufficient and "Landlords have a responsibility to ensure their properties are well maintained and well managed".

The Londoner reported that children from the home, which is run by Athwal's friend Daljit Johal, had gone missing and been left at risk of criminal exploitation.