With the Ealing Council elections set to take place on 7 May 2026 and now less than a year away, Ealing’s Liberal Democrats have unveiled a new shadow cabinet as they step up their challenge to both Labour and the Conservatives across the borough.
Currently holding seven council seats, the Lib Dems are aiming to increase their presence on the council by responding to local concerns – focusing on areas where they believe Labour has underperformed and where Conservative support may be shifting.
The party has been critical of the Labour-run council, particularly over the closure of children’s centres, redundancies at Ealing’s virtual school, long delays in housing repairs and what it describes as “the lack of transparency by Ealing Labour”.
Councillor Gary Malcolm, leader of Ealing Liberal Democrats and shadow cabinet member for transport, said: “Liberal Democrats have been challenging the administration across the board as Labour employs a ‘smoke and mirrors’ approach whilst falsely trumpeting of values of openness and transparency.”
Councillor Malcolm added: “They often barely do the minimum they can get away with. Ealing Labour are complacent and talk the talk, but they do not walk the walk. This means residents are being let down again and again.”
As well as Councillor Gary Malcolm, the Liberal Democrat shadow cabinet includes Councillors Jon Ball (housing and development), Gary Busuttil (finance and IT), Connie Hersch (crime and culture), Athena Zissimos (environment and climate), Jonathan Oxley (children’s services), and Andrew Steed (adult social care).
