The end has come for the Ballot Box, one of Greenford’s pubs, and the timing, as we prepare to take part in council elections, seems particularly unfortunate. The present building dates from the 1930s and replaced another establishment of the same name, the remains of which can be seen around 300m away along Horsenden Lane North. It may have been there since the 1840s and it probably was the place where local men of means came to cast their vote at elections, but the tale that those living and working on the Grand Union Canal used it as their polling station should be taken with a pinch of salt. Even after the Second Reform Act was passed in 1867, adding around one million to the electorate, the right to vote was still denied to some men and all women.

The struggle to secure that right and make elections fair and open is probably unknown to most who will head to polling stations around Greenford on Thursday 6th May, or have used their postal votes. I wonder how those who protested and petitioned for years would react if they knew that so few now make the effort.

Ealing Council’s records show that fewer than half of those eligible to vote in North Greenford, Central Greenford (formerly Greenford Green) and Greenford Broadway wards turned out in 2022 (NG: 38.41%; CG: 37.24%; GB: 33.41%). This seems extraordinary to me when I read posts on local social media and speak to people in the area. There is always something that they feel the council should be doing but there seems little enthusiasm to to change whoever they feel has been failing them. Greenford’s ward councillors often keep their seats for a very long time, in fact the latest vacancy, in Central Greenford, is a consequence of the recent and unexpected death of Dr. Aysha Raza, first elected to Central Greenford in 2014.

It is often said that the streets seem cleaner and council response times shorter just before an election, I’m not convinced that’s true. What is certain is that those up for election or re-election will show their faces at any local event, smiling at flowers at allotment shows or posing in front of Greenford Station. It did not come as a surprise to see all three councillors for one ward on parade at the AGM of a local residents’ association but even I was amazed at their complacency, one had nothing to say and scrolled through social media on his phone through most of it. Another did, but it was mainly about association excursions and knitting poppies (the cynic in me couldn’t help seeing that as an appeal to older voters). The third was the only one actively batting for the team and it didn’t go well, fielding questions from irritated and frustrated residents who had arrived with firm opinions about fly tipping, weird leaks, the state of grass verges and the fate of closed pubs.

It wasn’t the first time that I had been at a local forum or consultation where a third or more of those present were ward councillors. Ealing Council has set about spending the money accrued from developers through Section 106 funding, intended to mitigate the impact of the large developments inflicted on the borough in recent years. There are restrictions on how the money can be spent, it won’t be go towards the social care bill but it might get residents a manmade wildlife friendly pond in an existing park. It won’t pay for extra enforcement officers but it could mean the run down community centre gets a makeover. An opportunity to influence the way it would be spent came last year via an email and I found myself negotiating a vast, darkened playground at Stanhope School one evening in an effort to find the venue for the consultation. In the end a cleaner had to show me the way. It became clear that it had been a struggle to find anywhere suitable for the event that met the budget. Picture adults making themselves comfortable on child sized furniture. Some residents had made it out on a cold dark evening to participate but the arrival of almost all Greenford’s ward councillors bumped the numbers up considerably and it became evident that the remainder of those attending were professionals in the field of community development or employed by the council. As we sat with our knees up to our chins on stools that were fixed in place around tables designed for seven year olds, the process began of establishing what [some] residents [and other suitable people] wanted to be done with all that spare money.

We were handed large sheets with basic tree outlines drawn on them and paper leaves. It became clear that some around me were old hands at this. As the event progressed we were asked to write things on leaves and stick them on, suggest what might improve communities, the local environment, etc. It seemed appropriate to be doing this surrounded by child art and uplifting mottoes. There was the inevitable group photo to prove we’d done it. By that stage I and another resident, a veteran of Greenford’s committees and consultations, had reached the limit of our patience and we left, leaving a bright room for an even darker playground. We spent several minutes trying to feel our way out before resigning ourselves to going back for assistance. On re-entering we found an emotional event organiser extolling the virtues of volunteering, giving her own father as example. There was a faint sense of embarrassment and I realised that the event may have been a vehicle for the furthering of a career. I suspect this will be undermined by her selection of refreshments, a spartan spread which included fruit…

The snacks on offer often reflect the nature of the organisation responsible for an event, so I should not have been surprised to find sweets available at the consultation on the future of Greenford Library. The debate over what becomes of this building has stirred up considerable emotion in older residents, for whom it is part of their own history. Afternoons spent finding books to help them with homework, a place for whispered conversations or a brief quiet escape from an uneasy home. It is often a proposed change to a familiar landscape that triggers attendance among those who avoid public events as they would the plague, the realisation that they love a building and feel some ownership, often the case with pubs. On this occasion I learned that despite this affection Greenford’s library had the lowest footfall of any in the borough. If residents are reading it hasn’t been the books on its shelves. I had expected a presentation, but we sat in groups representing quite an age range and engaged in various tasks, including a game of Pass the Parcel, where a layer of wrapping paper was taken off when the music stopped to reveal – what else – a lollypop and a question about youth activities. What struck me about the occasion was the language used by the high proportion of those engaged professionally in youth support. The talk was of “the offer” available to children and young people in Greenford by people who lived some distance away from it. Aysha Raza was present on this occasion and mentioned that she and others were keen to save the building, otherwise development seemed inevitable. I have no doubt that she meant residents that she had spoken to, but few were present and it is hard to believe that an issue that was stirring up so much emotion on Facebook was not reflected in the turn out.

The library has been saved for the foreseeable future, in the care of the Young Ealing Foundation, and while I may find their approach amusing (surely sponsorship by Haribo is next) I was touched by their sincerity. I have no doubt that they do good every day through their work. I know that some of the outcomes in my life would have been considerably different had I experienced even occasional contact with people like that.

A less cheerful but perhaps more important opportunity for residents to express an opinion are the lesser known ward panels run by the Metropolitan Police through their Safer Neighbourhood Teams. There are few aspects of life in modern life that draw the level of criticism that local policing does, and this was evident when I began to attend these brief quarterly meetings. It was painful to watch residents who were coping with unacceptable levels of antisocial behaviour on their doorsteps encountering police officers who could only spare half an hour to engage with them, and seemed exhausted and world weary. I have never come away from any local gathering feeling so troubled and hopeless. It was a reality check on my expectations of local policing and I feel it would benefit all concerned if more residents recognised the degree of effort put in by our ward teams despite being hampered by such limited resources. To do so, however, they must turn up in person, and the disinclination to participate in something as well organised and significant as an election suggests that many of Greenford’s most vocal critics of what is being done (or not) on our behalf won’t feel inclined to turn out on a Monday evening for something that may be cancelled at very short notice.

Amongst my collection of English pressed glass is a plate with a design that includes the words “GLADSTONE FOR THE MILLION”. It was produced in Sunderland in 1869 to commemorate the efforts of the Prime Minister to allow many more British men to take part in elections. These plates found their way to many homes, carried, I’m sure, on the Grand Union Canal. It’s a shame that the same passion for democracy does not stir hearts in Greenford as it once did. Decisions are now often left to well meaning tired people from somewhere else playing Pass the Parcel after a long day at work. The Ballot Box may yet rise again in a third location but in order to do so it will take an intervention of local people demanding more of those given the honour of representing them as ward councillors.

In memory of Dr Aysha Raza, 1973-2026

Text © Albertina McNeill 2026. Do not reproduce without written permission on each occasion. All rights reserved. Do not add text or images to Pinterest or similar sites as this will be regarded as a violation of copyright.