Ruth Dombey, who served for a long time, has been replaced as the new leader of Sutton Council by Councillor Barry Lewis. After serving for 12 years, Dombey disclosed that her decision to resign was influenced by a cancer diagnosis.
Lewis began his first statement by thanking Dombey for her dedication to public service and outlining his political goals for the Council, which is led by the Liberal Democrats. He did, however, also emphasise the significance of overall good governance as a top concern.
“We have ambitious plans for Sutton, but I want to be clear that in my new role of continuing to get the basics right,” Lewis stated during the annual Council meeting. ensuring that the trash is picked up, the streets are maintained tidy, our parks are lively and inviting, and that those in need and struggling citizens receive our assistance.
Lewis is now one of the top members of the Sutton Lib Dem party, even though he was only elected as a Wallington North councillor in 2019. He often fieldes inquiries about traffic safety during Council sessions and is widely regarded as the face of the borough’s initiatives.
Because of his affiliation with Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN), he is viewed as a controversial figure by some, even though others have embraced similar initiatives. Some borough residents have historically opposed LTNs, arguing that Sutton depends more on its automobiles than other London boroughs because of its very sporadic TfL service.
So it should come as no surprise that he focused much of his speech on two topics: better travel around the borough and climate change. “The climate emergency, we need better buildings and better public transport so we can bring out carbon emissions down,” he told the council.
“The cost of living crisis is still with us,” he continued. All around the nation, local government is underfunded, and the majority of the services offered by the Council are directed towards the lowest-income citizens.
“As a Council, we will persist in making challenging choices to guarantee a budget that is balanced, but we will also insist on a more equitable settlement for local government that acknowledges the unfairness of the current system that gives outlying London boroughs like Sutton a bad deal.
The reason why new companies are moving here is because Sutton is seeing higher levels of investment than many other London boroughs, and they see an exciting future. However, Sutton and the other boroughs of outer London need to recognise that inner London receives infrastructure investment on a regular basis, particularly in the area of public transport.
Lewis also promised the Council that his first official act as leader would be to extend an invitation to Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, to visit the London Cancer Hub at the Royal Marsden and learn about the importance of Sutton receiving its fair share of city hall funding.
Dombey, who led for 12 years, also hailed the research institute, calling its 2021 launch a pinnacle of her tenure. This was especially significant to her because she had just learned of her own cancer diagnosis.
“Suddenly the political becomes very, very personal,” the woman remarked. I recently received a cancer diagnosis, and last week I had my first chemotherapy treatment.
I still have a long way to go, but I’ve never felt more proud to have been among the first to see our borough’s potential for a world-class hospital and cancer research institute, and to have realised that the Council could collaborate with them to create one of the most significant cancer centres.
In her farewell remarks, Dombey also urged increased financing and assistance for local government. She cited her tenure as the Council’s head during the COVID-19 pandemic in particular as a case study for increased localism.
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