Ealing Green councillors have criticised Labour-run Ealing Council’s new four-year Council Plan, arguing it does not place enough emphasis on tackling the climate crisis.
The criticism came during a full council meeting last Tuesday (30 June 2026), when the Green Party’s newly elected councillors delivered their first speeches in the council chamber following May’s local elections.
The meeting marked the first full council contributions from Green Party councillors since the local elections. Councillors Clare Welsby, Natalia Kubica and Andrew Walkley, who represent Hanwell Broadway, and Councillor Husam Alharahsheh, who represents South Acton, all made their maiden speeches.
Green councillor Marijn van de Geer, who was elected to represent North Acton at a subsequent by-election last month (7 June 2026), also attended the meeting and is expected to make her maiden speech at a future full council meeting.
Green group leader Councillor Clare Welsby said climate change appeared only under one of the plan’s nine “missions” alongside clean streets and clear roads, despite last month being the hottest June on record in England.
She told the meeting: “Responding to the climate emergency must be part of all nine of Ealing’s missions.”
Hanwell Broadway councillor Natalia Kubica also called for greater urgency, warning that extreme weather was already placing increasing pressure on public services.
She said: “Now is the time for mitigation, and for proactive measures to keep Ealing’s residents safe in extreme weather. Climate resilience should be baked into every single aspect of the council’s work.”
The Greens also questioned whether the Council Plan would deliver enough genuinely affordable housing.
Hanwell Broadway councillor Andrew Walkley said the party supported the aim of providing safe and affordable homes but questioned whether the plan would deliver the number of social homes needed, while South Acton councillor Husam Alharahsheh called for “real action” and measurable improvements to services residents rely on.
Councillor Welsby also questioned the plan’s approach to children’s services. She said the council’s recently approved early help strategy, which includes closing 10 children’s centres and replacing them with a family hub model, was not fully reflected in the Council Plan. She noted the document referred to a single family hub but made no mention of the borough’s children’s centre network, asking whether the approach was “open, inclusive, and transparent”.
Speaking to EALING.NEWS after the meeting, Councillor Welsby said: “Contrary to Council Leader Peter Mason’s suggestion that opposition councillors had not read the Plan, Green councillors had read it thoroughly several times and in our view, while it has many worthwhile ambitions, there is no detail on what will be delivered, and when and how.”
All five Green Party councillors voted against the Council Plan when it was approved by Labour-run Ealing Council.
