Inside Croydon

INSIDE SUTTON: After winning 51 of 55 seats in the local elections, you’d be forgiven for thinking everything’s going smoothly for Sutton’s LibDem council leader Barry ‘Basher’ Lewis.
But ahead of next Tuesday’s annual council meeting, there’s already moves for a leadership challenge, as BELLE MONT reports

Heavyweight contest: ‘Basher’ Lewis’s biggest challenge looks to be coming from within his own ranks

Barry “Basher” Lewis, the leader of Sutton Council’s Liberal Democrats, having seen off the borough’s Conservative opposition on May 7, now has to contend with sniping and challenges from his own party colleagues.

Sutton’s LibDems’ nasty streak has already been exposed in the law courts, over the mistreatment of David Campanale, their ousted parliamentary candidate, described as a “Christian sacrifice” in the latest edition of Private Eye magazine following the collapse of Sir Ed Davey’s party’s legal defence over the prejudicial deselection.

The rumblings of discontent are already coming from within Basher’s own 51-strong council LibDem group, with murmurings of dissatisfaction over the divvying up of committee seats – and the valuable Special Responsibility Allowances that go with the chair positions – with manouevrings already underway for a possible leadership coup.

And Basher hasn’t even been allowed the opportunity to bathe in the faint glow of success surrounded by all his party’s new councillors at the annual council meeting, which is next Tuesday. Continue reading →