On 25 June 2026, residents in the North Acton ward will vote in a by-election to choose who represents them at Ealing Council.
EALING.NEWS has asked all candidates standing to become a councillor, 7 questions about who they are, what they hope to deliver and why they want residents to vote for them.
Here’s what Craig Smith, standing for Ealing Community Independents in North Acton has to say:
Tell us a bit about yourself, your priorities for the North Acton ward and why you want to be councillor?
I have lived in Ealing for 28 years. I met my civil partner here, had two children at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital and together we brought them up in the community, through our local authority schools. I work as a marketing director in the technology sector.
I’ve always involved myself in trying to do the right thing for our borough – as a school governor, an officer of Ealing Trades Union Council, through local politics and as a founder of the Save Ealing Children’s Centres campaign. As a family, we’ve been well-served by early years services, local schools, libraries, parks and amenities – now it’s my turn to protect those for the next generation.
As I travel around North Acton, I realise that a new find of fight is needed – one that is led by the community, for the community. Residents see cranes everywhere, but the community is not getting a fair deal; they are living through rapid urban change, intense housing pressure, high renter turnover, construction disruption, transport pressure and concerns around crime and clean streets.
Billions of pounds in investment are pouring into the area – but where are the new GP appointments, school places and community facilities? Data centres that use as much energy as needed to power 100,000 homes are cropping up across Park Royal and within the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation – a drain on resources with relatively little economic return or employment for the community.
This new fight is a positive one – not against development, but for development that genuinely serves the interests of ordinary people living in the area. North Acton could be, and should be, somewhere that the economic and societal benefits from regeneration and technological innovation are fairly distributed and serve the community – yet residents know that those benefits are not being delivered.
North Acton deserves better than politics as usual. The established political parties are wholly unsuited to meet this new challenge – too often their Westminster bias leaves local councillors toothless or conflicted. I am serious about wanting to fight for the rights of local people and I’m focused on everyday life in North Acton – not party games that revolve around Westminster.
What motivates you?
What motivates me is fairness – and making sure ordinary people don’t get a raw deal.
North Acton is a good example. Residents are living through one of the biggest transformations anywhere in London. Billions of pounds are being invested, thousands of new homes are being built, and yet many local people feel they have less influence than ever over what happens in their own neighbourhood. That strikes me as fundamentally unfair.
Too often, decisions are made by political parties, developers and institutions that are accountable to each other rather than to the people who have to live with the consequences. Residents are consulted after the decisions have effectively been made. Communities are promised benefits that never quite materialise. Councillors become more focused on their party’s priorities than their residents’ priorities.
That’s what motivated me to establish Ealing Community Independents. I wanted to build a political movement that starts from a simple principle: local politics should belong to local people.
The North Acton by-election is a perfect example of why that matters. The ward already has two Labour councillors. Electing a third Labour councillor would simply reinforce the status quo. The by-election itself exists because a newly elected Green councillor resigned almost immediately after being elected. Residents were entitled to expect better. I think people are looking for something more serious than that.
They want representatives who are accountable, visible in the community and focused on everyday life rather than party politics. They want regeneration that works for existing residents, not just developers. They want councillors who see their job as standing up for local people, not climbing a political ladder.
What is your own personal connection to either North Acton or any other part of the borough?
I have lived in Ealing for three decades and have brought up a family here. Our children were both born just up the road at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital, my partner teaches yoga at Ellen Wilkinson School and I have spent more hours than I care to remember at football training sessions with my son on North Acton Playing Fields.
What do you consider to be your 3 top political, work or personal achievements and what impact have they had?
I’m proud to have set up Ealing Community Independents – we are serious about trying to do politics differently, by offering a truly local and independent alternative to the mainstream national parties. Hopefully residents will see that the old system is broken – and get behind what we are trying to do.
In the May 7 local elections, we stood 26 candidates across 11 wards in Ealing and came second-placed in four wards, and third-placed in a fifth ward. It was an excellent result for a brand new local party, registered with the Electoral Commission, and shows that we can be a serious challenger to the political status quo in Ealing.
It’s never just about electoralism. I’m proud, always, to fight for my community – the Save Ealing Children’s Centres campaign is one recent example. We helped to take Ealing Council to High Court with a Judicial Review to its flawed consultation and decision to close 10 children’s centres.
I’ve had a fulfilling career as a former business journalist and now strategic communications director, with experience working collaboratively at a senior level within large, matrixed organisations. These professional skills will help me, as a councillor, to help North Acton residents – we all know that Ealing Council is a large and complex organisation that can be difficult to navigate!
What do you consider to be the top 3 challenges North Acton ward faces and how will you as a councillor address them?
- Development must bring community benefit
North Acton is at the centre of the Old Oak Common transformation and major regeneration plans. Residents see cranes everywhere but do not feel the benefits in daily life. ECI believes development must work for existing residents – not just developers. As a councillor, I will push Ealing Council to:
- Demand a binding ‘Community Benefit Guarantee’ for all major developments
- Publish transparent developer contributions (S106 money) and show residents where the money goes
- Push for more genuinely affordable homes tied to local incomes
- Campaign for more GP capacity and school places before approving major schemes
- Demand construction mitigation plans with resident oversight
- Increase scrutiny of data centres close to residential zones
- Require developers to fund local parks, youth spaces and cleaner streets
- Create a North Acton Residents Forum with real influence over planning
- Clean and Safe Streets
North Acton has the sixth highest crime rate in Ealing. Yet residents tell me that they rarely see action on the issues that affect everyday life: fly-tipping, dirty streets, anti-social behaviour, drug dealing hotspots, dangerous roads and crossings and a lack of visible enforcement or addiction support. I would pursue:
- A street-by-street clean-up action plan
- Quarterly neighbourhood walkarounds with residents
- Pressure for visible police and enforcement presence
- Community safety partnerships with residents and local businesses
- Crackdown on illegal dumping and repeat offenders
- Better lighting around stations and estates
- Safer pedestrian crossings around North Acton station and major roads
- Housing Affordability and Renters’ Rights
North Acton has a huge renter population, low housing security and lack of affordable housing for families. As a councillor, I will:
- Campaign against exploitative service charges in new developments
- Support tenants facing poor conditions or unfair treatment
- Offer local renters’ advice surgeries
- Push for family-sized affordable housing instead of only luxury studios
- Create an ‘empty-property’ pressure campaign
- Oppose segregated housing developments
What do you love about North Acton ward and the borough of Ealing?
North Acton offers huge variety and multiculturalism. I love the breadth of experiences and energy that it brings. I enjoy all aspects of this ward and discovering new ones – the world cuisine (‘London’s Kitchen) and creative industries to be found on the Park Royal estate, the historic railway worker cottages around Stephenson and Goodhall Streets, to the leafy ‘posh’ avenues in the south of the ward.
How accessible will you be to North Acton ward residents and how can they get in contact with you now and if elected how will you ensure you are accessible to them in the future?
A good councillor is always accessible, responsive, out and about in their community (we forget this, because Ealing has so few examples!). I fully intend to be a good councillor. I will be responsive to North Acton residents and will report back regularly through open meetings in our ward. I can be contacted at info@ealingindependents.org.
Ealing Community Independents will:
- Restore ward forums to formally consult over local budgets, planning priorities and public realm schemes
- Engage with residents regularly via street surgeries, meetings online and in person, newsletters, email and other communications
- Respond to written requests within five days of a resident’s first contact
- Ensure a clear visible presence in every ward, supported by ward teams of Ealing Community Independent members
Click here for all North Acton ward by-election candidates standing.
