A FRESH START FOR EALING

FOREWORD

When the Liberal Democrat team speaks to residents, the recurring theme is that people struggle to feel proud of the area they live in due to questionable decisions made by Ealing Labour for over a decade.

Liberal Democrats want Ealing to be the place people choose to live - not because they have to, but because it's the community they want to be part of. We believe that people should have the freedom, security, and opportunity to make that choice with confidence.

Residents often tell us that they have lost pride in their community due to rampant fly-tipping, dirty streets, inappropriate developments that do not fit with Ealing's character and cuts to our public services which gel our community together.

To restore pride in our community, local people need a Council that is open, competent and caring: one that listens to you, acts in your own interests and puts residents first. As Ealing Council's Official Opposition, we are here to challenge Ealing Labour and hold them to account.

Ealing Labour is simply not providing good value for money. They raised your Council Taxes by the maximum for most of the last decade whilst turning down almost £100 million of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) over 15 years that would have funded many public services. 

Ealing Labour has also failed to deliver decent public services. 

Labour has a record of failure in building enough truly affordable housing. They are also failing tenants and neglecting their responsibilities, leaving many of them stuck with damp and mouldy properties. Ealing Council has the fifth highest number of Ombudsman complaints amongst Councils across England which is very strong evidence of Labour failing us.

Ealing residents are still feeling the consequences of Labour and Conservatives' disastrous decision to cut street cleaning in 2017. Liberal Democrats have costed solutions to fix this problem and clean up our streets.

This manifesto sets out our positive plan for Ealing: the six key outcomes Liberal Democrats will deliver if elected as the majority group. Ealing deserves better, and our record shows we are the team you can trust to deliver these changes - with transparency, care, and a focus on real record of action.

The Liberal Democrats have real momentum. More and more people across Ealing are backing the Liberal Democrat plan to clean up Ealing, make Ealing safe, and deliver a Council that works for you. 

BACK THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS ON 7^th May, and together we will build the Ealing that people choose, proudly and wholeheartedly, to call home.

Celebrating the Liberal Democrat Achievements

As Ealing Council’s Official Opposition, the Liberal Democrat group has achieved many successes in the last four years. Despite not being Ealing Council’s administration, we have punched ‘above our weight’ and delivered real change to the borough we all call home.

Here are just some of the successes that Liberal Democrats have achieved since becoming Ealing Council’s Official Opposition at the last local election:

A safer Ealing

• Liberal Democrats successfully campaigned for the Council to reverse its decision to dim our streetlights at night.
   
• Worked with the Police across the borough to reduce anti-social behaviour and crime.
   
• Secured funding for more enforcement staff that specialises in reducing crime and anti-social behaviour.
   
• Achieved a major victory to protect Blue Badge users from being victims of car crime by convincing the Council to adopt a virtual blue badge as well as a physical badge, in line with other London boroughs. There will also be free CPZ permits for blue badge holders, extending existing blue badge permits to three years, and allowing the Police to perform real-time checks to combat theft and misuse.

A cleaner Ealing

• Liberal Democrats successfully forced the Council to get several underperforming tree pruning contractors sacked.
   
• Exposed the fake tree watering scandal by revealing the actions of dishonest contractors which the Council tried to conceal.
   
• Forced the Council to adopt the Liberal Democrat policy to cut garden waste charges by 25% and cut bulky waste charges by 40%.
   
• Successfully forced Ealing Council to adopt a policy where e-bike companies are fined when their bikes are left blocking the pavements without being removed within two hours.
   
• The Council has incorporated a Liberal Democrats proposal to introduce community skips to reduce fly-tipping.

Safeguarding our environment:

• Liberal Democrats worked with local community campaigners for Ealing Council to designate Warren Farm as an official Nature Reserve, certified by Natural England. Ealing Labour planned to turn the home of 20 endangered species into a sports ground for a football club owned by the previous Labour MP’s son. Liberal Democrats have spoken up inside and outside the Council chamber to successfully retain the reserve’s full 24.8-hectare size.
   
• Liberal Democrat Official Opposition Councillors have stopped the Council from removing the Metropolitan Open Land (MOLs) protective status on numerous Ealing parks. This means their proposal of potentially allowing tall towers on our local parks is now overturned.
   
• Successfully campaigned for the Council to introduce more EV charging points and cycle hangers in many parts of the borough.

Restoring pride in where we live:

• Liberal Democrats successfully pushed the Council to hire a Conservation Officer.
   
• Liberal Democrats exposed the shipping container housing scandal at Meath and Marston Courts. Liberal Democrat Official Opposition Councillors initiated an Extraordinary Council Meeting in December 2023, which led to residents being moved to safer and more suitable accommodation.
   
• Forced the Council to make a U-turn to generate greater enforcement against illegal HMOs (houses of multiple occupancy) and rogue landlords using the landlord licencing system.

A more transparent council:

• Forced the Council to publish an online Freedom of Information log to improve transparency.
   
• Presented a costed alternative budget to reduce waste and re-direct millions of pounds of public money to protect frontline services.
   
• Stopped Ealing Labour-run Council from selling Perceval House to developers and successfully pressed them to open the floor up for community groups and local charitable organisations to make use of the venue instead.

MANIFESTO: Liberal Democrats' ‘Six to Fix’

Ealing is desperate for change. For too long, Ealing Labour failed to provide a decent service despite piling local people with ever-increasing Council Taxes.

It doesn’t have to be this way. The Liberal Democrats have a plan to fix this by getting the basics right and delivering a Council that works for you.

The Liberal Democrats will focus on protecting our public services, delivering a clean and safe Ealing, supporting our local businesses, and tackling inequalities in sport participation. Liberal Democrats also believe that by treating residents with respect and involving them in decision-making, together we can get Ealing back to the community we once took pride in again.

1. Protecting our public services

• Save our children's centres: Liberal Democrats have a costed plan to stop Labour’s plan to close TEN children’s centres on day one in Ealing to provide the best start for children and families across our borough.
   
• Liberal Democrats strongly oppose the opaque decision to close Michael Flanders and Cowgate day centres for vulnerable adults and respite services for carers.

2. Delivering a clean and safe Ealing:

• Ealing Council spends approximately £3 million every year to clear up and dispose of fly-tipping – nearly £140 per fly-tipping incident.
   
• Liberal Democrats believe therefore, measures to prevent fly-tipping in the first place is by far more cost-effective than the ‘cure’ of sending teams to clear out our streets after the incidents have occurred.

• Liberal Democrats have a costed plan to increase the frequency of street cleaning and leaf sweeping and invest extra resources to tackle fly-tipping.
   
• Ensure effective monitoring of cleaning contractors by applying cleanliness data and AI to direct clean-up teams to areas with the most need.
   
• Discourage fly-tipping by implementing more WEEE Points in every ward to allow residents to recycle small electrical items.
   
• Increase the opening hours of Greenford Waste and Recycling Centre to seven days a week, cancel the inconvenient appointment-based system, and re-open Acton Recycling Centre in full.
   
• Expand the coverage of Council-funded local police to tube or transport stations to solve anti-social behaviour, aggressive begging and drug crime at our Town Centres beyond those currently deployed to borough council estates.
   
• Continue to campaign for the Labour Mayor of London to reverse the closure of 24-hour front counter service in Acton Police Station.
   
• Increase street lighting near transport hubs to strengthen visibility and safety.
   
• Implement a joined-up approach from the Council, NHS and the Police to tackle the root causes of crime by tacking the mental health issues surrounding alcohol and drug use.

3. Supporting our local businesses:

• Liberal Democrats will encourage much-needed footfall into our struggling high streets by cancelling Labour’s ‘Stop and Shop Plus’ stealth parking charges.
   
• Incentivise the use of our local high streets by providing EV charging points at a lower price point.
   
• Make our Town Centres a more appealing place to be and give shopkeepers confidence to trade in our local areas by working with the Police to tackle shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

• Introduce a new Ealing App for Council services and discounts on parking and shopping, in adherence to other Liberal Democrat-run Councils such as Richmond.
   
• Create a Microbusiness Allowance to give local startups small regular sums in the first six months of trading (£100 a week) to enable entrepreneurs to get their business up and running.
   
• Attract investment in the local economy and create jobs in the borough by promoting Ealing's musical and film heritage.
   
• Strengthen partnerships with employers and contractors from our borough to expand the number of apprentices that focuses on developing skills in housing and building trades, caring professionals, and green industries.

4. Protecting Ealing's reputation as ‘Queen of the Suburbs’

• Respect the Local Plan, created in consensus with local residents, to restrict towers more than 8-storeys high.
   
• More stringent ‘fit and proper’ tests for housing developers to avoid repeats of companies leaving developments derelict and half built, such as ones near Dean Gardens and Acton Vale.

• Focus on mid-rise ‘mansion block style’ developments in line with Ealing borough’s character and deliver affordable housing suitable for families.
   
• Enforce the Lib Dem-led policy, passed in the beginning of 2026, to install swift boxes on new developments by developers.
   
• Pressure the Mayor of London to enforce a higher percentage of truly affordable housing in new planning proposals.
   
• Lobby for new primary legislation in Parliament to punish developers who do not go through with their proposals for new infrastructure that is needed to go alongside the new housing such as doctors’ surgeries, schools and transport links.
   
• Commission a fully independent enquiry into the failures of the Lammas Park SuDS drainage scheme.

5. Treating residents with respect

• Faster response times to vulnerable, elderly and other residents in need by implementing a quicker response target.
   
• Trust local residents with decision-making on issues that affect their daily lives by trialling the use of mini referenda to gauge public opinion and avoid bad decision-making, such as LTNs.

• Reverse the changes that Ealing Labour made to stifle debate and scrutiny, such as its decision to increase the number of petition signatures needed to initiate an official public debate in a Council meeting.
   
• Restore Ward Forums to bring back decision-making power to local residents, rather than a centralised approach such as ‘Your Voice, Your Town’.
   
• Implement genuine consultations that are open and fair by avoiding bias in survey methodology and questions.
   
• Ensure that the motivation for parking changes is NOT to become cash cows at the expense of residents and visitors.

6. Building cohesive communities through sport:

• Tackle sport inequality by a focus on greater social inclusion in sports that that have traditionally been the preserve of affluent residents and would require specialist equipment and facilities, such as cricket, hockey and golf.
   
• Develop a long-term strategy to make Ealing borough ‘West London’s Home of Cricket’ by leveraging Ealing’s strengths such as the Ealing Youth Games, and its thriving cricket clubs such as Ealing Cricket Club, Trailfinders, Old Actonians, Brentham and London Tigers.

• Assist Ealing Hockey to become the premier hockey club in London by giving them a permanent home. We would consult residents about re-purposing Barclays Sports Ground and promote the sport in state schools.
   
• Commit to co-funding cricket, hockey and golfing equipment by promoting corporate sponsoring opportunities to local businesses.
   
• Work with third parties to encourage coaching sessions in state schools, specifically for children from low-income homes, such as providing cricket bursaries for coaching and equipment.
   
• Liberal Democrats believe in the power of sport to increase social cohesion. We want to provide extra funding for local grassroots charities who organise sporting sessions for children and teenagers to encourage community ties and deter anti-social behaviour.

Download Our Manifesto