Local elections profile: Ealing

Ahead of the local elections on Thursday 7 May, we have produced short guides to London's 32 boroughs.

Where is it? The London Borough of Ealing is in west London and is bordered by Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Brent and Hammersmith and Fulham.

What's it like? Ealing, known as the Queen of the Suburbs, has a rich history stretching back over a thousand years. It boasts world-famous film studios, award-winning parks, and a thriving food and arts scene.

Neighbourhoods: Seven towns make up the borough: Acton, Ealing, Greenford, Hanwell, Northolt, Perivale, and Southall.

Places of interest: Ealing Studios, Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery, Walpole Park, Northala Fields, Ealing Broadway, Grand Union Canal, Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall, Wharncliffe Viaduct, Hoover Building, Perivale Wood.

Pub quiz fact: The North Korean embassy is in Ealing, on Gunnersbury Avenue.

Population (2024 estimate): 367,115.

Demographics: According to the 2021 census, 43.2% identify as white, 30.3% as Asian, 10.8% as black, 5.2% as mixed race and 10.6% as another ethnic group.

Average property price: According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average house price in Ealing in January 2026 was £580,000

Average monthly rent: The ONS reported the average monthly rent in January 2026 in £2,052

Council tax: Band D council tax in the borough for 2026/27 is: £2,138

Transport: According to TfL there are 14 Tube stations, five Elizabeth line stations, two London Overground stations and about 700 bus stops in Ealing.

Local history: Ealing derives its name from Gillingas, meaning the people of Gilla, who may have been an Anglo-Saxon settler.

Over the centuries, the name changed until Ealing became the standard spelling in the 19th century.

It was an ancient parish and rural village in Middlesex until the urban expansion of London in the19th century.

The building of the Great Western Railway in the 1830s, part of which passed through the centre of Ealing, led to the opening of a railway station on Ealing Broadway in 1838.

It became a municipal borough in 1901 and part of Greater London in 1965.

What is the borough's electoral history? Since 1965 Ealing has switched hands eight times between Labour and the Conservatives, but Labour have held the borough for the last 16 years, increasing their number of seats at each election.

What happened in 2022? The turnout was 40.3% and there was a small swing of 1.7% from Labour to the Tories.

Labour 59 seats (+2)

Conservatives 5 seats (-3)

Lib Dems 6 seats (+2)

Boundary changes had increased the number of seats from 69 to 70.

Since the election, one Labour councillor has become an independent, and the Lib Dems won a seat from the Tories in a by-election.

Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics said: Ealing is a borough which used to be a perfect test of politics in London and indeed across the country; Conservative some of the time, Labour at other points.

Now Labour holds it strongly and given everything else we know about London politics, it looks as if Labour will keep Ealing in 2026.

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