Is Labour's Grip on Acton Coming to an End?

No councillor has been elected from another party for two decades

The election is taking place on Thursday 7 May

April 21, 2026

The latest polling is suggesting that the Labour party in Acton might be facing its most serious challenge for two decades.

One W3 ward, North Acton, is currently projected to be too close to call with the historically safe East Acton ward also likely to be determined by a relatively small number of votes.

The last time there was a non-Labour councillor representing a ward predominantly in Acton was in 2006 when the Conservatives took seats in the now defunct Acton Central wards as well as East Acton. These victories helped the party to take control of the council.

The following analysis is largely based on polling carried out by Pollcheck, an organisation that publishes ward level predictions. It uses historic voting, recent national polling and demographic data to project results at a local level. This methodology will not take account of specific local factors such as a councillor’s performance in office and particular issues which are important to local voters.

Projected Vote Share in Local Wards

The continuing breakdown of the two-party system has made the situation much more complex therefore any projections should be seen as speculative. One thing that the political parties across the spectrum agree on is that the result of this election is uniquely difficult to call.

In the election taking place this May, it is projected to be the Greens rather than the Conservatives who present the main challenge to Labour. Only in South Acton do the current administration appear to be comfortable.

In North Acton, Blerina Hashani, Cabinet Member for Thriving Communities is defending her seat along with another sitting councillor, Hodan Haili. Labour took all three seats last time out in what was then a newly formed ward. It is a crowded field this time with 17 candidates vying for the three available seats. Pollcheck is giving two of the wards seats to Green candidates and one to Labour with a ‘too close to call’ caveat.

North Acton

In East Acton, the former Labour councillor Kate Crawford returns this time as a Liberal Democrat having not been reselected by Labour. The Greens have historically fielded just one candidate in this ward but, next month, are putting up a full slate. Long-serving Labour councillors Stephen Donnelly, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Economy, and Hitesh Tailor, who served as Mayor two years ago, are the remaining incumbents. A projected margin of 10 percentage points is narrow enough for Pollcheck to give one of the three seats to the Greens.

East Acton

In South Acton, Labour’s vote share is projected to dive but it is anticipated that the party will still enjoy a majority of over 20 percentage points over the Greens in second place. There are even more candidates in this ward than North Acton, with 18 standing. Yvonne Johnson is the only sitting councillor for the ward seeking re-election. A particularly bad day for Labour could leave this ward as the party’s only enclave in the east of the borough.

In the wards adjacent to Acton, some of which contain W3 post code areas, the Liberal Democrats look set to end up with more councillors. They have historically dominated Southfield ward and already have councillors in Ealing Common and Hanger Hill and will be hoping to win all three seats in both.

Although Labour looks set to lose a double-digit number of seats, the central projection from Pollcheck is for it to remain above the 35 needed for control of the authority. The middle of the expected range is for the party to take 41 seats, nearly all in Northolt, Greenford and Southall. The Green are projected to have up to 20 new councillors with the Lib Dems representation rising to double figures. However, it is estimated currently there is only a 12% chance of a change of control at the council. Even if Labour were to lose all its seats in North Acton and East Acton, they would still probably have enough councillors elsewhere to form an administration next month.

Can’t get to the polling station?  

Anyone who is registered to vote can apply to have their ballot paper sent to them in the post. The deadline to apply for a postal vote, or to send written notification of changes to an existing postal or proxy arrangement, is 5pm on Tuesday 21 April. 

Residents who wish to apply for someone to vote on their behalf, must submit a new proxy vote application. The deadline to apply for a proxy vote is  5pm on Tuesday 28 April.