Ealing Liberal Democrat Councillor Jonathan Oxley shares his thoughts on Labour-run Ealing Council’s plans to close children’s centres across the borough.
“Ealing Labour’s new council budget should have been an opportunity for the current administration to reverse the cuts to Ealing’s wonderful children centres. But they flunked it. Instead, they were in the Royal Court of Justice wasting council tax-payer money on expensive barristers defending a Judicial Review claim that challenges their decision.
“At full council on 3 March 2026, the Liberal Democrats proposed a fully funded budget amendment to ensure all of Ealing’s children centres could stay open this year. Predictably, the Labour councillors voted it down.
“In December 2025, the Labour leader of the council, Councillor Peter Mason, gave an interview setting out his reasons for the closures.
“He claims that children centres are ‘intimidating’ environments and that residents are ‘fearful of authorities’.
“I wonder whether the leader of the council has ever visited a children centre. If he had, he would surely know that they are safe and welcoming places and hugely valued by the community.
“He says that outreach services would be better, but this is an absurd position when at the same time as he closes children centres, the Labour government is planning to open new ones. Bridget Phillipson says she wants to “give children the best start in life” by establishing family hubs – children centres by another name – that will act as one-stop shops. I didn’t think I’d hear myself saying this, but Bridget Phillipson is right and Labour-run Ealing Council is wrong.
“But of course, the leader of the Council had another explanation for the closures. You guessed it, it’s the fault of the coalition Government 16 years ago and the Tory governments that came after it. But Ealing’s children centres operated throughout the coalition years and even survived the Tories. I’m afraid, the sad truth is that Ealing’s children centres are being closed by a Labour-run council, in Labour-run London and under a Labour-run government in Westminster. Every tier of Government is run by Labour. Ealing’s Labour leader should stop blaming everybody else and start taking responsibility for his own decisions.
“Councillor Ball from the Liberal Democrats was recently at the Royal Court of Justice to witness JO vs the London Borough of Ealing. Embarrassingly for Labour, the claimant is a two-year-old child who lives in Ealing. JO and her parents have relied on their children centre since JO was just 9-weeks old. They brought the claim because they worry that the closures will restrict services and opportunities for their children.
“We eagerly await the Court’s judgment which I sincerely hope is successful. In the meantime, the Liberal Democrats will continue to campaign for Ealing’s children centres to remain open.
“On 7th May 2026, voters in Ealing Borough can make their own judgement about Ealing Labour’s performance at the London local elections. Let’s hope they send them down.”
