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

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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.

North Acton ward
Candidate	Party	Votes
Blerina HASHANI	Labour	1,356	Elected
Simon ANTHONY	Green	1,298	Elected
Hodan Mohamoud HAILI	Labour	1,296	Elected
Guneet Singh MALIK	Labour	1,186
Maciej PAWLIK	Green	1,051
Nasim NUR	Green	1,001
Sarah BEAMENT	Conservative	592
Sally GORMAN	Conservative	551
Bob BAKER	Reform UK	530
Simon QUINCE	Liberal Democrat	511
Ann LAZAROW	Conservative	502
Caroline FANNERAN	Reform UK	496
Alan WARR	Reform UK	449
Alan WHELAN	Liberal Democrat	396
Patrick SALAUN	Liberal Democrat	386
Kamlesh MEHTA	Rejoin EU	201
David Lawrence HOFMAN	TUSC	83

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.

South Acton ward
Candidate	Party	Votes
Katie Lynn DOUGLAS	Labour	1,469	Elected
Yvonne Elizabeth JOHNSON	Labour	1,306	Elected
Husam ALHARAHSHEH	Green	1,239	Elected
Christina MEIKLEJOHN	Green	1,195
Gareth James SHAW	Labour	1,128
Elyes REZGUI	Green	957
Antoni BIALEK	Conservative	550
Mica EVANS	Community Ind.	542
Luke HEARN	Liberal Democrat	510
Elizabeth JONES	Community Ind.	486
Margaret JOACHIM	Liberal Democrat	479
Stephen PEACH	Conservative	479
Anna GRAYSON-MORLEY	Reform UK	454
Anura KEPPETIPOLA	Conservative	446
Glen MILLER	Community Ind.	433
Stephen JEWELL	Reform UK	432
Nicholas REES	Reform UK	407
Peter ROCHE	Liberal Democrat	391

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.

East Acton ward
Candidate	Party	Votes
Stephen Owen DONNELLY	Labour	1,229	Elected
Rabia NASIMI	Labour	1,207	Elected
Hitesh TAILOR	Labour	1,123	Elected
Sam DIAMOND	Green	1,055
Suzanne FERNANDES	Green	1,035
DE GEER Marijn VAN	Green	950
Kate CRAWFORD	Liberal Democrat	838
Abdi AHMED	Liberal Democrat	678
Benedict CROSS	Liberal Democrat	586
Richard ARNOLD	Conservative	529
Jeremy BRADSHAW	Reform UK	511
Patrick KENNEDY	Conservative	494
Calvin CHAN	Conservative	473
Michele FARRUGGIO	Reform UK	468
Djivan SOUREN	Reform UK	413
Amirah ABRAHAMS	TUSC	98

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.

Hanger Hill ward
Candidate	Party	Votes
Jonathan OXLEY	Liberal Democrat	1,805	Elected
Athena ZISSIMOS	Liberal Democrat	1,764	Elected
Mark SANDERS	Liberal Democrat	1,639	Elected
Edward BAILEY	Conservative	1,103
Kate CROSSLAND	Green	1,017
Anthony YOUNG	Conservative	997
Dea OMARI	Conservative	810
Hadi KHORSANDI	Green	770
Ben FRYER	Green	722
Catherine Ann WALLACE	Labour	570
David John LINES	Labour	556
Michael MINKOV	Reform UK	537
Deshal RAJA	Reform UK	487
Cianan John WHELAN	Labour	451
Peter Mark WARD	Rejoin EU	175
Stephen Andrew BALOGH	SDP	142

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.

Ealing Common ward
Candidate	Party	Votes
Jon BALL	Liberal Democrat	2,227	Elected
Connie HERSCH	Liberal Democrat	2,044	Elected
Lakhbir SINGH	Liberal Democrat	1,643	Elected
Lewis GARLAND	Green	1,029
Alex VINES	Green	984
Keith Scott BROOMFIELD	Labour	921
Maxim BAGDASARIAN	Labour	873
Alexandru-Andrei ABUTOAIEI	Green	842
Mohinder Kaur MIDHA	Labour	816
John COWING	Conservative	720
Samuel GIBB	Conservative	634
Roz REECE	Conservative	627
Simon LUDGATE	Reform UK	560
Martin SHIPPEY	Reform UK	542
Jai DHAWAN	Reform UK	523

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.

Southfield ward
Candidate	Party	Votes
Gary BUSUTTIL	Liberal Democrat	2,587	Elected
Gary MALCOLM	Liberal Democrat	2,567	Elected
Andrew STEED	Liberal Democrat	2,488	Elected
Laura DARWISH	Green	1,181
Mike LANDON	Green	1,035
Ayomilekan Jonathan ADEGUNWA	Labour	859
Dean Ricky GILLIGAN	Labour	825
Jeannie Adetokunbo OKIKIOLU	Labour	794
Chris BROWN	Conservative	768
Charlotte DUTHIE	Conservative	704
Darryll COATES	Conservative	657
Elaine JELLY	Reform UK	465
Matthew MARTIN	Reform UK	450
Tom VANSON	Reform UK	425
Helen Katherine Campbell PATTISON	TUSC	129

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.

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