Councillor Gary Malcolm, leader of Ealing Liberal Democrats shares his latest update and reflects on the issues affecting residents in the borough including closure of children’s centres and Ealing Council home repairs.
Living in the area where you serve as a councillor is very useful when you want to know what issues are affecting local people in Chiswick and Acton as people will tell you when they see you on the way to the shops.
Recently people have told me about they are concerned about the council’s plans to close 13 of its 25 children’s centres, including one locally called Maples.
Children’s centres work in partnership with health, social care and voluntary agencies to offer great support to children and families with stay and play groups, antenatal appointments with a midwifes, English classes, singing classes and mental health services. They can often provide an early identification and intervention systems for vulnerable children or those with special educational needs.
The Labour party want to cut these vital services but the Liberal Democrats in Ealing want to save them. We found the £360,000 to save them by cutting waste from a budget that was not needed but sadly both the Labour party and the Conservatives voted against the Liberal Democrat Budget proposals. Shame on them. We need to put political differences aside to save Children’s Centres.
Labour are privatising public services… the consultation is nothing more than a dressed up cost cutting exercise.
Others have mentioned the Labour government’s announcement of the Heathrow expansion whilst the local Labour party just sit on the fence. Only the Liberal Democrats are against expansion locally, regionally and nationally.
There are also plans, hidden under the cover of a ‘consultation’ where they have already made a decision, to shut down a number of adult day centres serving many vulnerable users including one locally called the Michael Flanders Day Centre.
Ealing Council has an atrocious record on repairs done for its housing stock meaning that many tenants suffer from leaks, damp and mould problems, some of which I saw on St Albans Avenue recently. So bad sometimes that the Council has lost Ombudsman after Ombudsman cases. Over £30,000 has been paid in fines for each of the last two years, which is a shocking waste of money!
As the official opposition the Liberal Democrats have been scrutinising these and other issues to make some improvements whilst in opposition. If we had more councillors, we could do more.
We successfully stood up for 25,000 people and local campaigners to successfully fight to protect Warren Farm and its rare wildlife and endangered species.
Liberal Democrats forced Labour to reverse the light dimming that Labour brought in so that residents to feel safer in their communities.
We fought successfully to remove the threat to Metropolitan Open Land under the Local Plan and limited the height of some future planning applications.
We forced the Council to take seriously the issues around Meath Court and similar sites to move people to safety.
Liberal Democrats believe the council needs get the basics right. They have been here for 15 years and people want change.
In May 2026 residents will have the chance to do that.
Do contact me at gary.malcolm@ealing.gov.uk if you would like to tell me what issues you think are important to you.
