I've moved from Acton so it really is none of my business, but for most people for many years to come the building will still be known - to me too - as Acton Town Hall whatever name is on the outside. Taking money for naming rights seems astute given the overall position Ealing faces like many other boroughs. My new borough - Brent - gets £20million less Revenue Support Grant from the government (i.e. you, the taxpayers) than last year, and last year £15 or so less than the previous year, and so on for most of the decade. So by 2016-17 Brent will get less than half the RSG it got in 2009-2010. Revenue Support Grant - based on income tax, a progressive tax - is a bigger source of income than Council Tax (often regarded as a not very progressive tax). So if your borough loses, as mine will, over hslf of its main source of income, it has to be creative about finding money from any sources it can, and by doing things more efficiently or cheaper, whilst protecting - so far as possible - ordinary residents and the public services on which they rely. I think holding the Council Tax level for the entire period of office is admirable, as it means a cut after adjusting for inflation. Given bus fares doubled in Boris Johnson's first 4 years in office and have risen further since, controlling the cost of living locally matters a great deal. If one small part of the price that is paid is a silly name for Acton Town Hall, so be it.
Dan Filson ● 4541d