Who Are the New Councillors for Acton and How Did They Win?

A guide to the results in local wards in the local elections

A montage of some of the councillors elected in Acton wardsearlier this month

May 21, 2026

Although Labour held on reasonably comfortably to control of Ealing Council, the results showed that the party can no longer take for granted former strongholds in the Acton area.

Its candidates faced strong challenges from the Greens in both East, North and South Acton wards taking three two seats in the process. A win for the Greens in North Acton was always on the cards, although their candidate resigned shortly after the result forcing a by-election, but polling had suggested Labour would be a shoe-in for all three seats in South Acton.

In neighbouring wards which include part of Acton, the Liberal Democrats were dominant taking all nine seats available.

Below is a guide to the details of the results, an introduction to both returning and new councillors and an analysis of how they won.

North Acton

North Acton produced one of the most closely fought contests in the borough. Labour cabinet member Blerina Hashani topped the poll with 1,356 votes and comfortably retained her seat, while fellow Labour candidate Hodan Haili polled 1,296.

But Labour lost its third seat to Green candidate Simon Anthony who finished two votes ahead of Cllr Haili in second.

North Acton councillors: Blerina Hashani, Simon Anthony and Hodan Haili .

The result is believed to reflect changing demographics in the rapidly developing Old Oak/North Acton area, with younger renters, students and environmentally minded voters appearing to shift toward the Greens. It was one of the clearest signs of Labour vulnerability in regeneration-heavy wards.

However, the victory descended into controversy after newly elected Green councillor Simon Anthony resigned less than two weeks later, triggering a by-election scheduled for June.

The resignation has been highly embarrassing for the Greens, who have not given a full explanation for the sudden resignation, and there is now the possibility Labour could retake the seat in the by-election.

Turnout: 37.54% · Electorate: 10,964

South Acton

Despite being seen as Labour's safest seat in the area, South Acton was perhaps the most politically fragmented contest of the group. Labour held two seats through incumbents Katie Douglas and long-serving Yvonne Johnson, but the Greens captured the third seat through Husam Alharahsheh. He was elected to serve on the Green Party’s Policy Development Committee last year, where he works to develop policies.

South Acton councillors: Katie Douglas, Yvonne Johnson and Husam Alharahsheh

Cllr Douglas topped the poll with 1,469 votes, but Labour’s third candidate Gareth Shaw only managed 1,128, finishing behind two Green candidates.

The result was notable because Labour had previously comfortably retained the ward in a 2024 by-election after former councillor Callum Anderson became an MP.

Another interesting feature was the presence of the Ealing Community Independents, who polled several hundred votes each. While they did not come close to winning, they may have siphoned votes from Labour and contributed to the Green breakthrough although it could be argued that the took more votes from the Greens than Labour.

East Acton

East Acton remained Labour-held, but the result showed clear erosion in the party’s dominance. Labour’s three candidates — including cabinet member Stephen Donnelly — all won, but only narrowly ahead of the Greens. Clllr Donnelly topped the poll on 1,229 votes, with Labour colleague Rabia Nasimi on 1,207 and Hitesh Tailor on 1,123.

East Acton councillors: Stephen Donnelly, Rabia Nasimi and Hitesh Tailor

The stand out performance was the Greens’ strong second-place challenge. Sam Diamond and Suzanne Fernandes both broke the 1,000-vote mark, and the gap between Labour’s third candidate and the top Green was fewer than 70 votes. That suggests East Acton is becoming a genuine Labour-Green marginal rather than a safe Labour ward.

Veteran councillor Kate Crawford, who had defected from Labour to the Liberal Democrats, attracted a sizeable personal vote, outperforming the two other candidates from her new party but that was only enough to earn her a seventh place finish.

Turnout: 39.67% · Electorate: 10,211

Hanger Hill

Hanger Hill was one of the clearest Liberal Democrat successes in the borough. The Lib Dems swept all three seats with strong margins, led by Jonathan Oxley on 1,805 votes and Athena Zissimos on 1,764.

Hanger Hill councllors: Jonathan Oxley, Athena Zissimos and Mark Sanders

This was very much in line with expectations. Hanger Hill has become a reliable Lib Dem base in recent years, and the party had already won a 2024 by-election there after former Conservative councillor Gregory Stafford entered Parliament.

The Conservatives remained competitive, with Edward Bailey polling over 1,100 votes, but they were clearly some distance behind the Lib Dem slate. Labour, by contrast, collapsed badly here, with none of its candidates even reaching 600 votes.

The result also strengthened the position of senior Lib Dem figures on the council, as Oxley, Zissimos and Mark Sanders are all prominent opposition councillors.

Ealing Common

Ealing Common saw another convincing Liberal Democrat hold, with Jon Ball, Connie Hersch and Lakhbir Singh all elected comfortably.

The ward was never expected to be particularly close, but the scale of the Lib Dem lead was still impressive. Jon Ball polled 2,227 votes — far ahead of Labour, Conservatives and Greens alike.

Ealing Common councillors: Jon Ball, Connie Hersch and Lakhbir Singh

One striking feature was the fragmentation of the opposition vote. The Greens performed strongly enough to overtake Labour in parts of the count, while Reform UK also secured over 500 votes per candidate. That split made it impossible for Labour or the Conservatives to mount a serious challenge.

The result further cemented Ealing Common’s status as part of the Lib Dem “western crescent” stretching through Southfield, Walpole and Hanger Hill.

Southfield

Southfield, which is mainly in Chiswick but does include parts of the W3 postcode area, delivered arguably the most emphatic result of all these wards. The Liberal Democrats dominated the poll, with Gary Busuttil, opposition leader Gary Malcolm and Andrew Steed all winning more than 2,400 votes.

Southfield ward councillors: Gary Busuttil, opposition leader Gary Malcolm and Andrew Steed

The margins were enormous: the top Lib Dem candidate outpolled the leading Labour candidate by roughly 1,700 votes.

This was entirely in line with expectations, as Southfield has become the strongest Lib Dem wards in Ealing.

The result also reinforced Gary Malcolm’s position as one of the borough’s most established opposition politicians.

Labour never looked competitive here, while the Greens achieved respectable second-tier results without threatening the Lib Dem hold. Politically, Southfield now looks more securely Lib Dem than Conservative — a major long-term shift in the politics of Ealing’s more affluent western wards.

Taken together, these six wards show the emerging political geography of Acton: Labour still dominant overall but increasingly challenged by the Greens in dense inner-Acton areas, while the Liberal Democrats are consolidating a stronghold in adjacent wards. The Conservatives remain competitive in some affluent pockets but are no longer the primary challengers in much of the borough.

A notice of vacancy in North Acton was declared by the returning officer after receiving a letter of resignation from Councillor Simon Anthony. Polling day will take place on Thursday 25 June and poll cards will be sent to electors in the ward this weekend.

The statement of persons nominated, confirming the list of candidates standing in the election, will be published at 5pm on Friday 29 May.

Electors with an existing postal vote arrangement will receive their postal ballot packs in the week commencing Monday 8 June.

The polling stations for the North Acton ward by-election are:

• Temporary Polling Place, Wesley Playing Fields, North Acton Road, NW10 6PF
• The Collective Old Oak, Nash House, Old Oak Lane, NW10 6FF
• Westcott Park Community Centre, 13 Ferguson Drive, London, W3 6YP
• St Gabriel’s Church Hall, Noel Road, London, W3 0JD
• St Vincent’s Primary School, Pierrepoint Road, London, W3 9JR
• West Acton Community Centre, Churchill Gardens, W3 0JN

Electors polling station will be shown on their poll card.

If not already registered, the deadline to register to vote is midnight on Tuesday 9 June.

The deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5pm on Wednesday 10 June.