Waltham Forest Liberal Democrats have elected long-serving Leyton councillor Bob Sullivan as their new Group Leader. By-election winner Cllr Winnie Smith is the new Deputy Leader and Cllr Farooq Qureshi will serve as Whip (internal liaison on the council).
Speaking after his election Cllr Sullivan said:
“The Liberal Democrat Group has an important job to do on the council and in the local community. Between them our members have enormous experience and determination. We will hold the Labour administration to account and continue to work hard for the local community. When Labour had full control of the borough before, they turned it into one of the worst run councils in the country. We will do all we can to stand up for local residents and stop that happening again.”
He identified the following priorities for the council:
“In the run up to the elections Labour spent many months ducking decisions on issues like the EMD Cinema, Arcade site and Walthamstow Stadium. Labour failed to take action to deal with the shortage of primary school places in the borough. The Liberal Democrats will demand that the Labour administration faces up to its responsibilities and comes clean about the decisions it plans to make.
“We will continue to press for a fair allocation of Olympic spending across the borough and for the swift implementation of the Liberal Democrat Weedbusteers scheme agreed just before the election.”
Cllr Bob Sullivan was first elected to Waltham Forest Council in 1981. He has won a reputation as a dedicated campaigner for local residents. He was instrumental in saving Leyton library from being sold off and ensuring the Leyton Lagoon swimming pool was built.
Cllr Winnie Smith was elected in 2008 in a by-election after the sitting Labour councillor was convicted under the Representation of the People Act for smearing her Liberal Democrat opponent. She represents Leyton ward.
Cllr Farooq Qureshi is a well-known councillor who represents Forest ward. He was parliamentary candidate in Leyton & Wansted where he achieved a 2.6% swing from Labour to the Liberal Democrats.
What an extremely sad time it is for Waltham Forest Liberal Democrats. Clearly, the general election, held on the same day as the locals, did have an impact. However, the new leadership also needs to recognise the damage those within the Walthamstow constituency caused with the insane deselection of highly experienced and long serving sitting councillors just a matter of weeks before the elections. A full post mortem now needs to take place as without one the Liberal Democrats will not be able to rebuild. Better a cull now than allowing those who contributed to the massive downfall remain to repeat history.