Lib Dems Say They Have Found £1.6 Million for Frontline Services
Claim they could save children’s centres and ditch Stop and Shop Plus
Cllr Gary Busuttil says the Lib Dem budget amendment is 'fully costed'
February 26, 2026
Ealing Council will set its budget for the coming financial year next week, and the Liberal Democrats have published an alternative plan that they say would redirect £1.6 million towards frontline services.
At the same time they claim it would while reverse what they describe as damaging cuts proposed by the Labour administration. Their proposals come as Labour prepares to put forward its own budget on Wednesday 4 March, which it argues is shaped by rising demand for services, inflationary pressures and a national funding settlement that has left councils across the country facing difficult choices.
Labour’s draft budget includes the closure of ten children’s centres, reductions in adult day-centre provision and a continued programme of savings across departments. The administration has said these decisions are necessary to protect statutory services and maintain financial stability, pointing to the wider context of local authorities struggling with social-care costs and reduced central government support.
It has also highlighted investment in areas such as temporary accommodation, homelessness prevention and safeguarding, which it says must take priority. Labour has already stepped back from some proposed increases to service charges, including garden-waste subscriptions and bulky-waste fees, after public opposition and pressure from opposition groups.
The Liberal Democrats say their amendment is designed to protect community services and address what they describe as a deterioration in neighbourhood conditions. Their plans include keeping all ten children’s centres open, increasing street sweeping and fly-tip removal, expanding recycling provision with new WEEE bins, funding community skip events and introducing lockable bins for flats above shops to tackle persistent waste problems.
They also propose reversing the Stop and Shop Plus parking scheme, which they argue has penalised residents and harmed high-street businesses, and commissioning an independent review of the Lammas Park SuDS project after recent flooding left parts of the park inaccessible.
To fund these measures, the group proposes reducing agency and contractor spending and cutting non-statutory printing budgets, while maintaining statutory mailings such as council tax and parking notices. Councillor Gary Busuttil, the Lib Dems’ shadow finance spokesperson, said the amendment offered “fully costed and practical measures to improve the lives of many in Ealing” and accused Labour of “actively cutting front line services for the most vulnerable residents through children centre and adult day centre closures.” He said the Lib Dems had “forced Ealing Labour to make U-turns on their price rises in green waste service and bulky waste collection charges” and argued that after 15 years in power “they seem to have run out of ideas.”
Councillor Gary Malcolm, leader of the opposition, said that under Labour “Ealing has presided over a decaying borough in which residents and the local high street has been taken for granted.” He said the Lib Dems believed high streets and parks should be “cherished as the heart of our local communities” and described the Lammas Park drainage scheme as “botched”, arguing that an independent review was needed to understand why flooding had occurred outside the newly dug drainage area.
Labour councillors are expected to defend their budget at the meeting, emphasising the financial pressures facing local government and the need to prioritise essential services. They have previously argued that the scale of national funding cuts since 2010 has forced councils to make choices they would not otherwise consider, and that the administration has continued to invest in areas such as youth services, housing and climate-resilience projects.
The full council meeting on 4 March will determine which proposals are adopted. Councillors will debate the administration’s budget and any amendments before voting on a final package for the year ahead.
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