The local elections are fast approaching and voters in Ealing will soon be heading to the polls on 7 May.
Labour is expected to hold on, but polling models project the party to lose several of its 56 seats, with the Greens and Liberal Democrats gaining ground.
From housing promises to children’s centre closures, here’s what’s at stake and who’s standing…
Where is Ealing?
Ealing is a west London borough sitting between Hillingdon, Harrow, Hounslow, Brent and Hammersmith and Fulham.
The borough contains the towns of Acton, Ealing, Greenford, Hanwell, Northolt, Perivale and Southall.
What happened in the last election?
Labour maintained control of Ealing Council in 2022, winning 59 of the 70 seats under new ward boundaries.
Voter turnout was 40.31%. Here is how the result compared to 2018:
Labour – 59 (+2)
Liberal Democrats – 6 (+2)
Conservatives – 5 (-3)
Since 2022, three by-elections have taken place following councillors being elected as MPs in the July 2024 general election.
The South Acton and Northolt Mandeville by-elections were both held by Labour, while the Conservatives lost the Hanger Hill by-election to Liberal Democrat Jonathan Oxley.
Two Labour councillors have since left the party to sit as independents.
The current makeup of the council is:
Labour – 56
Liberal Democrats – 8
Conservatives – 4
Independents – 2
What are the local issues?
Voters are going to the polls amid a mix of controversy, a more divided political landscape, and rising council tax.
Housing is the dominant issue. Ealing Labour’s 2022 manifesto promised to build 4,000 affordable homes, but the 2026 manifesto reports 2,614 affordable home starts – 1,386 fewer than pledged.
Campaigners say they want whoever wins on 7 May to work with community organisations to tackle unsuitable accommodation within the first year of the next council term.
A key battleground has also been a series of controversial residential development projects, including the proposed Trumpers Towers development on a brownfield site, which the Greens have opposed.
Reform UK’s Ealing branch chair has come out against the proliferation of Houses in Multiple Occupation, blaming them for a rise in anti-social behaviour.
Council tax is also in the spotlight.
Labour’s manifesto accepts that rises will be needed, stating: “Council tax has to increase to support the growing demand for adult social care, services for children with additional needs, and temporary accommodation.”
Children’s centre closures have become a major flashpoint.
In June 2025, Ealing Council voted to close 10 of its 13 centres.
A High Court judicial review brought by parents was dismissed on 16 April 2026, allowing the closures to go ahead.
Opposition parties have vowed to reverse the decision.
The Liberal Democrats say they would stop the closures on day one, the Green Party opposes them, and the Ealing Community Independents have pledged to keep all 25 centres open and upgrade them to “Sure Start+ standards”.
Labour’s manifesto does not commit to keeping the centres open but promises to double funding for early years support.
The Liberal Democrats also oppose cuts to adult day care centres.
The Cabinet Member responsible for the closures, Cllr Josh Blacker, is not standing for re-election.
Healthcare is another concern, and both Labour and the Green Party have pledged to fight to protect Ealing Hospital and keep its A&E open.
Who are the ones to watch?
Labour is unlikely to lose overall control of Ealing Council, but the party has been losing ground across the capital.
PollCheck’s council projector, which models ward-level results from national polling data, gives Labour only a 10% chance of losing control in Ealing.
However, Pollcheck still projects the party to lose 17 seats, with the Greens gaining 17 and the Liberal Democrats gaining three.
The Conservatives currently hold four seats and will be aiming to hold on in a borough where they have been steadily losing ground.
The party lost Hanger Hill in a 2024 by-election and has gone from eight seats in 2018 to four today.
The Ealing Community Independents, a new party, are fielding 26 candidates across 11 wards.
Led by Craig Smith, the group describes Ealing as a “one-party stitch-up” and has drawn support from former Labour members who left the party over what they describe as a culture of internal secrecy and suppressed democracy.
The Green Party is standing 54 candidates across the borough, with a focus on opposing large-scale residential development and children’s centre closures.
PollCheck projects the Greens as the biggest gainers in Ealing, picking up 17 seats from Labour.
A full list of candidates can be found on Ealing Council’s website.
Interesting facts about Ealing
Ealing’s population is 367,100, according to the 2021 Census, which is the third-highest of any London borough.
Southall, in the west, is home to one of the UK’s largest South Asian communities, predominantly Sikh, established in the 1950s.
The Rolling Stones formed after members met at the Ealing Club near Ealing Broadway station in 1962. Keith Richards later said that without it, there might have been nothing.
Charlie Chaplin attended a school for destitute children in Hanwell at the age of seven.
The borough is represented in Parliament by three Labour MPs. They are James Murray – who serves as Chief Secretary to the Treasury – Rupa Huq, and Deirdre Costigan.
Image: © Danny Robinson / Geograph. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 (CC BY-SA 2.0).
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