Newly Elected North Acton Green Councillor Steps Down

By-election declared after Simon Anthony resigns due to ill health

Simon Anthony. Picture: Ealing Green Party

May 20, 2026

North Acton is to haveanother vote to decide who represents it on Ealing Council.

Ealing Councill has confirmed that Simon Anthony, the Green candidate who came second in the poll in the ward earlier this month, has resigned.

The vote in North Acton was a very close fought contest between Labour and the Greens with Mr Anthony just over 100 votes ahead of a Labour candidate who finished in fourth. Sitting councillors Blerina Hashani and Hodan Haili were re-elected for Labour with 1,356 and 1,296 votes respectively but the two other Green candidates got over 1,000 votes.

Cllr Hashani was recently announced as a member of Cllr Peter Mason’s cabinet, as Cabinet Member for a Fairer Start, overseeing the closure of ten children’s centres in the borough.

Guneet Singh Malik, the unsuccessful Labour candidate, had been picked by his party to replace Daniel Crawford in the ward. Mr Crawford topped the poll in 2022, when the ward was newly created, with 300 votes more than the other Labour candidates.

After winning in the early hours of 8 May, Mr Anthony approached Cllr Peter Mason, Leader of Ealing Council, and taunted him by saying, “I’m so sorry to have spoiled your clean run [of winning seats].”

Ealing Labour said in response to the resignation, handed in to Ealing Council on Monday (May 18) that “The Green Party in Ealing have given up on Acton”, however the party intends to field another candidate in the ward. It is expected that a by-election will now be held by the end of June.

Neil Reynolds, Chair of the Ealing Green Party, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), “Unfortunately, one of our five recently-elected councillors, Simon Anthony in North Acton, is unable to continue and has had to step down from his role.

“We have therefore immediately requested a by-election in North Acton and we will be running a full campaign to try and keep the seat. The elections have proved the support we have across the borough, and in North Acton in particular. We will announce our candidate after a selection process in the coming days.”

The Ealing Green Party has refused to reveal why, when asked by the LDRS, he is unable to continue.

Despite the potential loss of one councillor, the recent election was an historic achievement for the Greens who secured their first representation on Ealing Council winning five seats.

Each poll costs the taxpayer around £20,000 to £25,000 to run. Simon Anthony is the fifth green councillor in London to resign days after election, following councillors in Camden, Haringey, Lambeth, and Hackney.

In Hackney, James Tilden was elected to represent Hackney Central ward, but had to resign after realising he was never eligible to stand, because he’s a teacher in the borough. The same thing happened in Camden with the local Green Party admitting it wasn’t aware of the rule before the candidates were put forward.

Jayon Henriques was also ineligible to stand but it was too late to remove him from the ballot paper in Haringey. Meanwhile Green Party candidate Saiqa Ali was suspended by the party before the election in Lambeth took place but it was too late to change her nomination.

She is understood to have not taken up her seat after being elected, and if she had taken it up she would have sat as an independent. Her suspension came after alleged antisemitic posts on social media.

It’s not just the Green Party that has seen resignations within days of the local elections. In Essex the Reform councillor Stuart Prior resigned over allegations he shared racist material on social media. He became the 17th Reform councillor across the country to resign since May 2025, with several of the resignations coming as a result of vetting or conduct issues.

A notice of vacancy was declared by the returning officer after receiving a letter of resignation from Councillor Simon Anthony for the North Acton ward. 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.

Written with contributions from Philip John Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter