Cathy Swift is a Ealing Community Independents candidate standing in Greenford Broadway in the Ealing Council local elections on 7 May 2026. She sets out her views on why she is standing.
“I am an avid campaigner for a cleaner borough and demonstrated my commitment by building the Litter Action Group for Ealing Residents (www.lagercan.co.uk) from a group of 375 to more than 2,500 volunteers over the past five years.
“During that period LAGER Can volunteers have donated labour equivalent to that of ten full-time employees per year to keeping the borough’s open spaces clean. By April 2026 LAGER Can volunteers had recorded the removal of 175,000 sacks of rubbish. Local residents and visitors to Greenford will no doubt be familiar with seeing piles of LAGER Can volunteers’ trademark blue rubbish sacks dotted around the Broadway and other litter hotspots across the ward, particularly on the weekends. By logging their work and liaising closely with the Greener Ealing Limited team, LAGER Can ensures that the rubbish they have collected is removed promptly, for the benefit of all.
“Our recent Great British Spring Clean event involved removing the rubbish from all 146 parks in the borough, including Ravenor Park. We are currently lobbying for improved ‘binfratructure’ – including larger, wildlife-proof bins – to keep our parks beautiful and safe for all users.
“Combating litter and fly-tipping, ideally at source, remains one of my passions. I know that rubbish makes residents feel miserable, and is terrible for the environment. I believe it could be significantly reduced if residents were more aware of what constitutes flytipping and what can be recycled; if facilities were available that made it as cheap and easy as possible for all residents to dispose of their waste responsibly; if officers involved in enforcement were supported in checking that businesses have valid waste transfer contracts; if strong enforcement action were taken against proven environmental criminals. Whether elected or not, I will continue to engage with residents and the relevant stakeholders to try to deal with residents’ rubbish-related issues.
“Volunteering all over the borough has heightened my understanding of other major issues that negatively affect residents, including the cost of living; the development of property for investment rather than homes; a lack of policing leading to increased antisocial behaviour; the loss of/reduction in amenities, including the wonderful Greenford Library, the children’s centre, high street shops; transport policies that make life for essential car users (running LAGER Can means that I am one myself) challenging and frustrating, and risk damaging local trade.
“I know that residents feel that their concerns are not heard, and that decisions are not always made in their interest. I am keen to have meaningful engagement with residents and work hard to ensure that their needs are addressed where possible. Residents want to feel that they are living in a democracy.
“I believe LAGER Can has thrived because of the strong and mutually-respectful relationships it has developed with its many partners, supporters and stakeholders. These include Ealing Council officers, who are working hard in often difficult circumstances to deal with their workload; local politicians – I do not believe that relationships between political parties need to be adversarial; local schools and youth groups; local businesses; importantly, other community groups volunteering in Greenford Broadway, including Ealing Wildlife Group, which runs Costons Nature Reserve, and Clean Up the River Brent, with whom LAGER Can works to improve the cleanliness of the river in Greenford and elsewhere.
“If elected I would continue to work hard with all stakeholders to try to address residents’ concerns. She can be reached at info@ealingindependents.org or lagercan2020@gmail.com ”
Full coverage of the Ealing Council local elections and candidates standing, can be found here.
