Voters are heading to the polls in the Labour stronghold of Ealing, against a backdrop of controversial developments, an increasingly split electoral map, and a hike in council tax. In the West London borough of Ealing, Labour is defending one of its strongest majorities in London at this latest
Matt Kenyon
Thursday 23 April 2026 1:05 am | Updated: Wednesday 22 April 2026 3:19 pm
Voters are heading to the polls in the Labour stronghold of Ealing, against a backdrop of controversial developments, an increasingly split electoral map, and a hike in council tax.
In the West London borough of Ealing, Labour is defending one of its strongest majorities in London at this latest set of local elections.
Back in 2022, Sir Keir Starmer’s party won a commanding 57 seats, with six going to the Lib Dems and five going Conservative.
Boundary changes mean that voters are electing 70 councillors rather than the previous 69.
In this latest set of elections in May, results in Ealing are expected at 04:30am on 8th May.
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Ealing constituencies are represented in Parliament by three Labour MPs, including chief secretary to the Treasury James Murray.
Although Labour is unlikely to lose overall control of Ealing Council, the party has been losing ground in the area.
In Starmer’s landslide general election win in 2024, each Ealing Labour MP lost vote share.
And in each of these seats, the Conservatives and Lib Dems lost ground as well. The main beneficiaries were the Greens, with a smaller slice of the pie going to Reform.
Read more London Local Elections 2026: Who will win in Croydon?
In March Kate Crawford, a former Labour councillor in East Acton, defected to the Lib Dems after being blocked from standing for her former party.
Council tax rise and government funding boost
The West London borough is looking at a significant cash injection from the government’s council funding redistribution.
As part of a national ‘Fair Funding Review’, Ealing Council will receive an additional £131.8m in government funding – amounting to a 35 per cent boost in spending power.
Local residents will foot the bill for some of this spending hike, with council tax set to go up by £98 for the average Band D property in a 4.8 per cent increase.
A key battleground issue in Ealing has been a series of controversial residential development projects.
The Greens have been critical of Trumpers Towers, a proposed residential development on a brownfield site.
Meanwhile the branch chair for Reform in Ealing has come out against the proliferation of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), which he has blamed on a rise in anti-social behaviour in the borough.
City AM is previewing local election votes taking place in every London borough. Click here for a full overview of May 7.
Read more London local elections 2026: Who will win?
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