Ruth Dombey stepping down as Sutton leader

News from Sutton Council:

The Leader of the London Borough of Sutton, Councillor Ruth Dombey, has announced she will be standing down as Leader at the annual meeting of the council in May 2024.

Councillor Dombey, who has been Leader for twelve years, will remain as a local councillor for Sutton North.

In announcing her decision to step down, Councillor Ruth Dombey said: “After 12 wonderful years as Leader of the Council, I have decided that now is the right time to step down and pass on the baton.

“With the General Election this year and our important Local Elections taking place in 2026, I feel that now is the right time to step aside and allow my successor time to take on this important and challenging role and lead us into the next election.

“It has been a huge honour and a privilege to be the Leader of Sutton Council and I am very grateful to everyone – fellow councillors, council officers and above all our residents – who care so much about our borough.

“I’m proud of what the Council has achieved since I became Leader in 2012. The London Cancer Hub is putting Sutton on the world stage as one of the world’s leading cancer drug discovery centres. Our plans for our main town centre demonstrate our vision to bring our historic and empty buildings back to life and help ensure it remains a hub for our communities to live, work and have fun. This will protect our shops and businesses and bring greater footfall to Sutton High Street, as well as create more local jobs.

“We continue to deliver on our ambitious programme of providing more housing across the borough, alongside continuing to care for those in our borough who need us the most – from meals on wheels to Admiral Nurses, to being the first local authority to build a brand new dedicated children’s home at Willow Rise. All of this makes me proud to call Sutton my home and to have been part of its transformation.”

Ruth has consistently been one of the most effective and kindest colleagues, making a huge difference to residents locally and being a friend and inspiration to so many across our party too. Thank you for all you’ve done, Ruth.

Here are the responses of some other Liberal Democrats:

And also:

I wrote a short profile of Ruth before you become council leader, which you can read here.

UPDATE: Barry Lewis is set to be Ruth’s successor.

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