BELLE MONT on the end of an error at the south-west London council
Dodgy: Ruth Dombey ruled Sutton with an iron fist for 12 years
Ruth Dombey, the Liberal Democrat leader of Sutton Council, is standing down from the position in May.
Dombey has been leader of the council since 2012, making her one of the longest-lasting council leaders in the country.
Her announcement this morning attracted plaudits from some supporters, including the LibDems’ former national party leader, Tim Farron. But there was no mention of Dombey’s dodgy role in imposing a polluting waste incinerator on her borough, nor her impressive (if unwanted) record for mentions in Private Eye’s Rotten Boroughs column.
Dombey, a councillor in Sutton since 2002, has been known to be suffering from significant health issues recently, and her retirement from Sutton Council’s top job had been anticipated. By continuing as a councillor for Sutton North ward, the move now has the look of a managed transition, with the next local elections due to be held in 2026.
The LibDems have been the largest party on Sutton Council since 1986. Under Dombey, they won local elections in 2014, 2018 and again two years ago, although with a significantly reduced majority.
Dombey’s legacy: the Viridor incinerator was pushed through by Sutton’s LIbDems, after they received generous ‘donations’ from Viridor
There was no mention in her lengthy statement this morning of her near permanent presence in the pages of Lord Gnome’s esteemed organ.
And Dombey failed to mention the controversial Viridor waste incinerator which she and her colleagues imposed on Beddington and the lungs of residents across south-west London – after the multi-billion multinational company donated tens of thousands of pounds to her party’s causes in Sutton.
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,” Dombey said in a statement released by the council’s press office.
“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 [she means staff] 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.
Farron fawning: Dombey at least got a herogram from a former LibDem leader
“Now is the right time for me to step down. I look forward to continuing to serve the community as a local councillor and supporting the new Leader, who will continue our ambition to make our borough the best place in South London to live, work and raise a family.”
MP Farron, who was Dombey’s party’s national leader from 2015 to 2017, described her as “one of our very best”.
In a tweet responding to Dombey’s announcement, Farron wrote, “Congratulations on your amazing term – thank you for your ongoing service.
“You help to give politics a good name.”
There is now expected to be a scramble to replace Dombey among her Sutton LibDem colleagues, where what passes for a power vacuum in local politics has been created by the general levels of incompetence among them.
According to one Sutton Council source, “The suspicion is that if there had been a potential successor who was even moderately credible, Ruth Dombey might have stood down much sooner.”
Scandal: David Barolucci has been damaged by his role in the Beech Tree Place saga
Of Dombey’s most senior colleagues, “Calamity” Jayne McCoy lost her position as deputy leader two years ago because of her part in SDEN, the failed heating network. McCoy’s replacement, David Bartolucci, is expected to be dumped imminently because of his role as chair of the council’s housing, economy and business committee in the multi-million-pound Beech Tree Place scandal.
Next off the LibDem rank was expected to be Barry “Biggles” Lewis, but it is hard to see how such a renowned bullshitter could possibly inspire confidence among voters, even LibDem ones.
Dombey and the LibDems used to run Sutton as their own little kingdom, with an iron-grip on the council and both of the borough’s MPs.
But now, because of a two-year saga over the selection and then de-selection of David Campanale, apparently still unresolved, the LibDems don’t even have a confirmed candidate for Sutton and Cheam with a General Election just months, maybe weeks, away, and with Tory MP Paul Scully presenting them with an open-goal by announcing his own (in part enforced) retirement from frontline politics.
Dombey’s successor as council leader is expected to be revealed at Sutton’s annual meeting, on May 20.
Read more: Council hired ‘Real’ builders and dodged Grenfell grants ban
Read more: Dombey’s dodgy LibDems’ handbrake turn over dirty diesel
Read more: Dombey and chums forced to climbdown over gerrymandering
Read more: Sutton’s Simpson show can’t account for £2m SDEN subsidy
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
