Chelsea and Fulham MP Steps Down from Council
Ben Coleman had represented Lillie ward for over a decade
Ben Coleman at last year's General Election count
January 14, 2025
The Labour MP for Chelsea and Fulham has resigned as a local councillor after more than a decade in the role. Ben Coleman, who has represented the Lillie ward in Hammersmith and Fulham since May 2014, said it has been a ‘huge honour’ supporting residents and business and that he will continue to represent them as their MP.
Mr Coleman beat the incumbent Conservative MP Greg Hands to win the Chelsea and Fulham seat at last year’s General Election. It was the first time the constituency had voted Labour.
Prior to the election he was Deputy Leader at Hammersmith and Fulham Council and Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care. While he resigned from both roles and relinquished his councillor allowance following his success at the ballot box, he remained a councillor for Lillie ward believing he could juggle the two roles.
A spokesperson for Mr Coleman previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “Ben chose to give up his councillor allowance after the election, but as his local ward is also part of his parliamentary constituency, he continues to represent and support its residents as he has done for the last 10 years.”
Since the General Election in July, Hammersmith and Fulham has held two Full Council meetings. These would have been the only council meetings Mr Coleman was expected to attend as a ward councillor since July. But he sent in his apologies for both due to being unable to attend.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council has now updated the online profile of Mr Coleman stating he is no longer an elected councillor. His most recent term of office is listed as ending on 8 January.
Mr Coleman said, “I love Lillie ward and it has been a huge honour to support its residents and businesses as a councillor for the last ten years. It’s very important to me that Lillie is represented by someone who really understands the ward and its people. That is something I have spent time working on, and I will do my level best to ensure that the community gets a truly effective elected representative to replace me. I will continue, of course, to support Lillie and all Chelsea and Fulham residents as their MP.”
A friend of Mr Coleman’s separately told the LDRS, “Ben feels like it is the right time to step down as a councillor.”
Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s website also notes Emma Apthorp similarly stopped being a councillor on 8 January. She was elected to represent Hammersmith Broadway in the 2022 elections, and became the borough’s youngest ever Mayor. Hammersmith and Fulham Council will announce by-election dates once they are confirmed.
An ITV News investigation published last week revealed how almost one in 10 MPs also sit on their local council. More than half of those whose attendance records are public are reported as having been to 50 per cent or fewer council meetings since the election.
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |