INSIDE SUTTON: After finally winning seats on the council for the first time in 20 years, half of what’s left of Sutton’s Labour group appears to have moved out of the borough. And some senior local party officials say that they were never told. EXCLUSIVE by our Civic Centre reporter, ROSE HILL
Working from home: Labour councillor Sheldon Vestey has been looking to move for more than a year
In January 2023, just eight months after becoming a councillor in his home ward of Hackbridge, Labour’s Sheldon Vestey was making enquiries about moving to Spain.
Councillor Vestey has now relocated though, oddly, a senior Sutton Labour official told Inside Sutton that they were unaware that he was leaving.
Last November, Vestey put his family’s four-bedroom home on Hackbridge’s New Mill Quarter up for rent, although by the start of this week he had not had any takers – despite a rent reduction to £3,100 a month.
Perhaps potential tenants are put off by the reputation of the high bills and failing heating system used at New Mill Quarter, which is supplied by the council’s dodgy SDEN network. Campaigning against the costly injustices of SDEN played a big part in Vestey’s election in May 2022, when he was one of three Labour councillors elected, the first from his party to be elected in Sutton since 2002.
But now, the Labour group in Sutton looks at risk of being reduced by two-thirds before the term is even three-quarters finished.
In 2022, Vestey and Dave Tchil won in the two-member Hackbridge ward, while former Mayor of Epsom, political veteran Sheila Berry, took a seat in St Helier West. Vestey was installed as leader of the Labour group on the Liberal Democrat-controlled council.
Then there were two: Hackbridge councillors Sheldon Vestey and Dave Tchil (right). Vestey says he has no plans to stand down as a councillor
That’s when things started to go sour.
Berry resigned as a councillor in March last year after falling out with Vestey.
Labour managed to lose the resulting St Helier West by-election, their vote share plunging. From three seats to two on the council meant Labour under Vestey was then removed from having seats on a number of influential committees.
Absences from key council meetings – apparently while away “on holiday” – and his own posts on social media enquiring about moving to Valencia suggest that Vestey was already thinking seriously about being off to sunny Spain even then.
Vestey receives £12,616 per year in allowances from Sutton Council as an elected councillor. His day job is as chief commercial officer (a promotion from being a salesman), for software company SciChart which, Vestey says, is “helping to put astronauts back on the moon”. It is probably a job that can be done working from home, whether that home in in Sutton or nearly 1,000 miles away in Valencia.
Planning ahead: one of Cllr Vestey’s earliest online enquiries about moving to Valencia
There is nothing to stop councillors working from abroad, but they are not allowed to be absent from council meetings for more than six months. Vestey was absent from half of Sutton’s meetings of full council in 2024.
When it comes to standing for re-election in May 2026, Vestey would need to be on the electoral register in Sutton or have a business registered in the borough.
When Inside Sutton asked Vestey why he had moved, the Labour councillor said: “I want to reassure residents in Hackbridge that I am able to carry out my duties both remotely and in person. I am still attending council meetings and you will find me at both the local committee and full council this month and in the months ahead.”
And he explained, “Unfortunately, my family has faced some challenges in the last year. My children have experienced pollution-linked health issues, with one being hospitalised multiple times and another pending surgery. In addition… a close relative has been in hospital for an extended period.
“These events have resulted in increased family commitments, and I am currently splitting my time between supporting those family members while continuing to serve our community.”
Eh! Viva Espana: Vestey has been a regular visitor to the ‘living and working in Valencia’ Facebook page, as well as visiting the city himself
Vestey was making enquiries on Facebook, in ex-patriot groups in Valencia, as early as January 2023, asking about amenities, schools and seeking property advice.
When asked online by a Sutton resident if he was planning to move abroad so soon after being elected, Vestey deleted the posts and suggested that asking such questions could amount to “intimidation”.
Councillor Vestey missed an important meeting of full council in March 2023, saying he was on holiday. But the purpose of a later trip in April was revealed to be checking out Valencia for a move, a fact confirmed by his now deleted Facebook posts.
Vestey then suggested people were “making stuff up” about his rental properties in Britain, a Spanish villa and a six-figure income, pointing out that none of this appeared on his council register of interests.
Yet all the things that Vestey said were “made up” have basis in fact.
Vestey himself was asking about Spanish villas on Facebook, and was not shy revealing a six-figure income.
And according to the most recent Land Registry records, Vestey did indeed own a property, in Norwich. In fact, in May 2022, when just elected, Vestey included it on his council register of interests, only for it to be removed in November 2022. The Sutton Council website section for Vestey in which assets over £25,000 are supposed to be declared by councillors now says “none”.
Digital nomad: working from home is not a problem, according to Cllr Vestey
Vestey told Inside Sutton: “Despite these personal circumstances, I remain dedicated to my work as a councillor and am committed to delivering for residents.”
Nevertheless, given the difficult circumstances of juggling his professional and family life, his council commitments and a busy schedule apparently commuting between Spain and south London, there are also consequences for others, and not just the Hackbridge residents Señor Vestey is supposed to help.
Colleague councillor Dave Tchil might be expected to take up some of the slack on local casework, although he told Inside Sutton: “My casework hasn’t been affected as we remain a cohesive team working for the local area.” So that’s alright then.
Previous denials, or at least avoidance, of direct questions about Señor Vestey’s residential plans have caused serious issues for some in Sutton.
Vestey has quickly acquired a well-deserved reputation for putting in complaints to the council and other public bodies, as well as the police, when someone crosses him. One member of the public who shared the councillor’s apparent intention to move to Spain was quickly the subject of a formal complaint to the police by Vestey, who suggested he was being harassed and intimidated.
Based on the allegations made by Vestey, the member of the public was arrested in front of his wife and children by
16
police officers. Yet there were never any charges, and the Metropolitan Police decided to take no further action.
Vestey’s conduct at Sutton Civic Centre is now likely to come under even closer scrutiny.
As one Sutton councillor said, “If this had been a Tory councillor moving abroad and pretending they could still do a proper job for their residents, Labour would be up in arms and demanding a resignation.
“Popping back from the beach for the occasional committee meeting to avoid disqualification is not the same as being an on-the-ground councillor, especially in a ward where deprivation is relatively high.
“I feel there’s more to this than meets the eye.”
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