Save Ealing’s Children’s Centres, say Liberal Democrats

Lib Dems appalled at these reduced front-line services for residents and children.

Ealing Lib Dems say it is a wrong-headed decision by Ealing Labour to seek the closure of any of its Children’s Centres, as they provide vital front-line
services for most of the disadvantaged within our communities.

Lib Dem Councillor Jonathan Oxley believes that the most recent budget should have been an opportunity for Ealing Labour to reverse the cuts to
Ealing’s essential children centres. At full council on 3 March 2026, the Liberal Democrats proposed a fully funded budget amendment to ensure all of Ealing’s children's centres could stay open this year. Predictably, the Labour councillors voted it down.

Rather, Ealing’s Labour Council prefers to waste council tax-payer money on expensive barristers defending a Judicial Review claim at the Royal Courts of Justice, which challenges their decision.

In December 2025, the Labour leader of the council, Cllr Peter Mason, helpfully gave an interview setting out his reasons for the closures, claiming that children's centres are “intimidating” environments and that residents are “fearful of authorities”. In fact, they are safe and welcoming places and hugely valued by the community.

The current Leader of the Council appears to think that all the ills in Ealing can be laid at the feet of the coalition government 16 years ago. This
conveniently ignores the fact that Ealing Labour have been in power continuously for 15 years and it is they who have presided over a downward spiral of decay across both statutory and universal services in the Borough.

Ealing’s children centres operated throughout the Coalition years and even survived the Tories. The sad truth is that Ealing’s children centres are being closed by a Labour-run Council, under a Labour Mayoralty in London and under a Labour-run government in Westminster. Every tier of Government is run by Labour. Ealing’s Labour leader should stop blaming everybody else and start taking responsibility for his own decisions.

Even the current Secretary of State for Education (SoS Education) is planning to open new children’s centres and wants to “give children the best start in life” by establishing “family hubs” - children's centres by another name, while Ealing Labour argues for their closure instead!

Cllr Ball from the Liberal Democrats was recently at the Royal Court of Justice for the Judicial Review against the Council’s decision to close
children's centres. He witnessed JO vs the London Borough of Ealing. JO, who is two-year-old, and her parents have relied on their children's centre
since JO was just 9-weeks old. They brought the claim because they worry that the closures will restrict services and opportunities for their daughter. The Liberal Democrats stand with JO and her parents and eagerly await the Court’s judgement.

Lib Dem Councillor Jonathan Oxley - Children (Education, Children's Services, Special Educational Needs, Fostering and Looked After Children) said: "The Ealing Liberal Democrats are saddened by the Council’s pretence that these closures will improve services for those in need. Ealing’s Labour Leader should stop blaming everybody else and start taking responsibility for his own decisions.

We eagerly await the Court’s judgment, which we sincerely hope is successful. In the meantime, the Liberal Democrats will continue to campaign for Ealing’s children's centres to remain open.

On 7th May, voters in Ealing Borough can make their own judgement about Ealing Labour’s performance at the London local elections.  Let’s hope they send them down.“