Ealing’s Labour Leader Hopeful of Win Despite Challenges
Peter Mason believes missed targets shouldn't count against his party
Peter Mason says downfall in housing starts down to Liz Truss and the war in Ukraine
April 24, 2026
In Ealing, Councillor Peter Mason, the Labour Council Leader, is hoping his party will win enough seats on May 7 to maintain control of the council.
Ahead of the local elections, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) sat down with Cllr Mason to ask about his record throughout the last four years, his party’s manifesto, and plans for Ealing should Labour win. From housing, to council tax, to whether he will be Council Leader in 2027, we asked Cllr Peter Mason the key questions.
We asked Cllr Mason what his main priorities are for the borough looking ahead to the next four years. He listed a number of Labour’s achievements over the previous term such as tackling the climate emergency, creating new jobs, and overseeing the construction of affordable homes.
He added: “We know that we need to tackle the cost of living. We know that we’re going to need to ensure that we restore pride in our streets.
“We certainly know that we need to make sure that we are doing our bit to fix the NHS and so much more. And, with the launch of our manifesto, we set out a really clear agenda about what the next four years are going to look like.”
Cllr Mason was asked how many affordable homes have been built (and moved into) since 2022. Affordable house building fell off a cliff in Ealing in 2024/25, with only 13 started – a drop of almost 100 per cent.
He said: “So in any given year, a council like Ealing will normally place into accommodation about 250 families on secure long-term, permanent, socially rented contracts. Because of the work that we’ve done, not just to deliver our own homes, but also to work with the market and purchase new homes at a deep discount, we’ll be ensuring that this year alone 700 families have the opportunity to move into a safe, secure, and affordable home… that’s about 10 per cent of our housing waiting list.”
In 2022, Ealing Labour’s manifesto promised to build 4,000 affordable homes, but in the 2026 manifesto, the party congratulated itself on building 2,644 affordable homes – 1,356 fewer than pledged. Cllr Mason was asked why Labour missed that target.
He started by explaining that in 2022, he could not have predicted the Liz Truss mini budget or the invasion of Ukraine. He added, “The thing that [you] should bear in mind is that in those four years with those challenges, we have still maintained our record and we’ve actually delivered more genuinely affordable homes in this election cycle than we delivered in the previous four years when we perhaps didn’t have some of the same challenges.”
It was put to him that the country is in a similar position now with rising interest rates, inflation, and a war in the Middle East. How could voters trust his promises this time around? He told the LDRS that despite government cuts between 2010 and 2015, and other external factors, Ealing has maintained below inflation council tax, and now has a Labour Government and Mayor to work alongside.
When asked what will change for people in Ealing across the next 12 months if Labour wins, Cllr Mason said: “The council will focus on the cost of living by reducing fees for bulky and garden waste collection and keeping council tax low.
“To tackle crime and antisocial behaviour, we will install 50 new CCTV cameras and introduce a new uniformed street service to patrol parks and town centres. We will also take serious action against dodgy landlords and continue investing £2 million into the Southall Young Adult Centre.”
He told the LDRS that he doubts the Greens will win a single seat in the borough, “I have a track record of delivery. Ealing Labour continues to deliver and we are on the side of residents.
“Our record speaks for itself in terms of what we’ve delivered, not just in genuinely affordable homes, but jobs for local residents and the money that we’re reinvesting back into frontline services. Look, you know, the Greens have never won a single councillor in Ealing and I doubt that they’re going to win a single councillor in the future.”
When asked if it will be Cllr Peter Mason as Leader of Ealing Council at the end of this year, he said: “I am very confident that Ealing Labour will win this election if residents vote for the party that has a strong track record of delivery and has values that we don’t compromise to chase voters, like the Greens or the Liberal Democrats who seem to be casting themselves at every sort of other moment.”
Philip James Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter
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