On 7 May 2026, residents in the Walpole 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 Matt Mellor, standing for Ealing Liberal Democrats in Walpole, has to say:
Tell us a bit about yourself, your priorities for the ward and why you want to be councillor for Walpole?
I have a degree in Economics and French and a Masters in Public Administration. I have worked my entire career in the public sector firstly in local government and for the past decade in the NHS where I am currently a head of contracts for an ICB responsible for the management of £500m+ of public expenditure on community health services.
I became more politically active post Brexit and post Covid. I am standing in 2026 because I believe our ward deserves better political representation than that provided by a complacent Labour party and I want to fix some of the problems we all experience in the ward.
For Walpole, this means tackling the key issues raised by residents with us on the doors including crime/anti-social behaviour, poor standards of street cleanliness, the Lammas Park fiasco, and the poor state of West Ealing
My personal priority is to improving accessibility for people in Ealing. My wife is a wheelchair users and we frequently experience day to day problems for people with mobility impairments in the borough including being able to use public transport, lack of disabled access WCs, unresponsive or slow health and council services, and not being able to access buildings. A key issue which comes up a lot on the doors is the poor state of the pavements in our ward which are a trip hazard to a number of people who have fallen. I want the council to review its policy and tackle the issue.
What motivates you?
I have always been interested in politics and public affairs, and am particularly interested in how we use public policy to improve people’s lives. I am motivated by key liberal democratic values of fairness, compassion, and community. In particular, I want to make sure we look after the most vulnerable in our society and this means making sure key services like temporary accommodation, homelessness support, drug and alcohol treatment, SEN provision, looked after children services and social care services work as effectively as possible.
We know that the life chances of some people are much worse than others often for reasons outside of their control, and as a compassionate society, we need to ensure people get the support they need. This is one of the reasons, the Liberal Democrats are campaigning to overturn Labour’s cuts to Children’s Centres.
But we also know that a high proportion of the council’s overall budget goes into these high cost service areas and we need to find ways to get better value for money and to ensure financial sustainability in the long term. The council also has a track record of wasting money – examples in Walpole ward include the £725k of public money spent so far on the Lammas Park SuDS scheme and the millions lost with the collapse of Henry construction which means the flats at Deans Gardens will need to be knocked down. I want to use my professional skills to ensure the council has tighter financial controls and we get better services for the council tax we all pay.
What is your own personal connection to either Walpole or any other part of the borough?
I am originally from Sheffield but I have lived in the ward since 2012 when I moved to London with my wife. My children go to the local schools (Fielding and Elthorne) and we use all the local amenities and services including the GP, Dentist, Hospital, high street, parks etc. I am aware of most if not all the issues residents raise on the doorstep because I experience or observe them as well. I stood in 2022 for election in Walpole ward and this year’s election is the culmination of 4 years hard work to put the Liberal Democrats in a position to get councillors elected in Walpole.
What do you consider to be your 3 top political, work or personal achievements and what impact have they had?
1. Political: Leading a 2 year campaign to get the council to introduce an electronic blue badge scheme in the borough to cut thefts and reduce fraud. This was a direct result of my wife having her blue badge stolen on our street. I first asked a public question at Full Council to highlight the issue and propose well-researched solutions. After hearing nothing for months, we ran a public petition with 400 signatures working with resident associations and neighbourhood watch groups to highlight the strength of support for this scheme. I was delighted when the council annouced they would finally adopt the scheme earlier in 2026, as it will have a big impact on the nearly 400 people a year in Ealing who are a victim of blue badge thefts.
2. Professional: Being part of the team at a NHS Trust which set up new services following the Covid pandemic including a Long Covid service for those sufferring with respiratory, fatigue and pain issues; a Virtual Ward service so people could be treated at home rather than in hospital freeing up beds; and a Sickle Cell/Haemoglobinopathy service to ensure better treatment and health outcomes for people with that disease particularly those from an African or Carribean decent who are disproportionately affected. I worked with clinicians to write the business plans, secure funding, and mobilise the services.
3. Personal: Aside from raising my family (2 children) with my wife, I would say walking 1,400 miles from the North Sea to the Meditteranean in 2009 raising money for charity to fund clean water projects. Please see https://www.travelblog.org/bloggers/theintrepidvoyager and https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/matthewmellor for more info.
What do you consider to be the top 3 challenges Walpole faces and how will you as a councillor address them?
1. Crime and anti-social behaviour particularly around West Ealing/Deans Gardens and the 5 roads where we are calling for extra investment in neighbourhood policing and council community safety services, as well as a multi-agency approach including police, council and health services to address the persistent issues we have been discussing at the police panel for the past few years.
2. Improving standards of street cleaning services in the ward. Liberal Democrats have a costed plan to increase the frequency of street cleaning and leaf sweeping and invest extra resources to tackle fly-tipping, as well as initiatives to make it easier and cheaper to recycle and dispose of waste in a socially responsible way. Part of this is ensuring effective monitoring of contractors.
3. Making sure the council is more responsive to residents and listens to local concerns. It is still really hard to contact the council to access services be it in person, on the phone or online. And we really want to improve the way the Council does public consultation in the ward – often it does not feel like genuine consultation,with residents feeling like their views are ignored and the outcome pre-determined.
What do you love about Walpole and the borough of Ealing?
The sense of local community – it is a really nice area to raise a family and we’ve made good local friends. Walpole and Ealing more generally has lots to offer such as our great parks, transport links, vibrant cultural scene etc.
How accessible will you be to Walpole 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?
People are welcome to contact us via our website or email walpole@ealinglibdems.org.uk with any queries ahead of the election.
As a first time councillor, I would seek to follow the Lib Dem standard of monthly surgeries and to ensure I respond promptly via email. More generally, Lib Dems are keen to see the council put more public engagement meetings in place such as restoring Ward Forums to bring back decision-making power to local residents, rather than a centralised approach such as ‘Your Voice, Your Town’. I currently serve on the Walpole Police Panel and would seek to continue attending these meeting and other local meetings as appropriate (e.g. West Ealing Neighbours).
Click here for all Walpole candidates standing.
Full coverage of the 2026 Ealing Council local elections and candidates standing can be found here.
