On 7 May 2026, residents in the Northfield ward will vote 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 Northfield, has to say:
Tell us a bit about yourself, your priorities for the ward and why you want to be councillor for Northfield
I have lived in Northfield ward for more than 25 years. I met my civil partner here, had two children (at Queen Charlotte’s) and together we brought them up in the community, through our local authority schools. I’ve always involved myself in trying to do the right thing for Northfields, and Ealing more widely – 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. My decision to stand as a councillor in my home ward is really an extension of this – along with the realisation that our current crop of councillors really are not on the side of local residents, and that local politics has to change!
My priorities for the ward are to defend public services against constant Council cuts – Northfields Library lost funding and now our Log Cabin Children’s Centre faces closure – and to ensure that any new development, including Orion Park, actually meets community needs, accommodates local families in affordable homes and considers vital infrastructure. I’m also keen to fix the fiasco in Lammas Park. Ealing Community Independents will push the Council to restore Lammas Park and make it safe and welcoming again. We will look, from a blank sheet, at what is genuinely required to tackle the threat of surface flooding – because the park wasteland that Ealing Labour has created is certainly not the solution!
What motivates you?
I’m motivated by, and almost obsessive about, fairness – and the need to put things right wherever and whenever I see something that is unfair. It is this that underpins my personal values, my politics and ultimately what led me to set up Ealing Community Independents.
There is so much about local politics that is unfair: local parties and career-oriented politicians that answer to mainstream Westminster parties rather than the people who actually voted them in, unresponsive and complacent councillors who miraculously show up every four years at election time, sham consultations that lead to predetermined outcomes, decisions that are done to us not with us…
As a community, we need to change things – and that is what Ealing Community Independents is built to do.
What is your own personal connection to the borough?
I met my girlfriend (now civil partner) in Northfields – and more than 25 years later we’re still here, now with a grown-up son and daughter! As a family, we’ve been well-served by early years services, local schools, libraries, parks and amenities – now it’s our turn to protect those for the next generation. My sister and her family also live just up the road, in Hanwell.
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.
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 have helped to take Ealing Council to High Court with a Judicial Review to its flawed consultation and decision to close 10 children’s centres – we’re hoping for a successful outcome to that challenge any week now!
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. If elected, I hope to use that corporate experience in future to help our community, through a better-run Council.
What do you consider to be the top 3 challenges Northfield faces and how will you as a councillor address them?
Public services – not cuts or closures
We will reverse closures to children’s centres, including the Log Cabin. We will defend and rebuild our services based on resident needs, oppose outsourcing and privatisation.
Quality affordable housing for all
Resist overdevelopment done without thought for the community or necessary infrastructure. Tighten HMO standards, limit rent rises and deliver homes reserved for local families.
Lammas Park fiasco – real action on flooding
We will restore Lammas Park after Council vandalism and make it safe and welcoming again, while tackling surface flooding at its source through regular drain clearing, particularly in high-risk areas
What do you love about Northfield and the borough of Ealing?
The multiculturalism – and the breadth of experiences and energy that it brings. It’s easy to take this for granted, but I’m grateful to live somewhere so full of verve and variety. I have a lot of love for Northfield Avenue, where I can access pretty much every variety of world cuisine within a few minutes of my house.
How accessible will you be to Northfield 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 local 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 Northfield candidates standing.
Full coverage of the 2026 Ealing Council local elections and candidates standing can be found here.
