Who Are We ?
This is the website of Sutton South Ward Liberal Democrats and of the two Sutton South Ward Liberal Democrat Councillors, Heather and Richard. The third key member of our tean is Peter Honour, who is a member of the local party executive and management committee.
Here is some information about us:
Councillor Richard Clifton
55 The Ridgway. Sutton. Surrey. SM2 5JX
email: richard.clifton@sutton.gov.uk
telephone 0208 770 5520
Councillor Heather Honour and Peter Honour
29 The Ridgway. Sutton. Surrey. SM2 5JX
email: heather.honour@sutton.gov.uk
telephone 0208 770 4099
We all live in Sutton South Ward, and have lived here for a long time. So we have a close understanding of the benefits, opportunities and (sometimes) the problems of living here.
HEATHER says
Peter and I moved to South Sutton in 1988 to be closer to my parents and other members of my family. We met each other in the Home Office where we both started our careers. After 6 years I moved out into the world of business; first to a retail trade association (I love shopping) and then to one of the country’s largest multinational companies. Government and international relations were my main responsibilities. I spent a great deal of time trying to improve conditions for British business in Europe and in international markets. Fundamental changes in the company made it a much less appealing place for me to work and I left to pursue my interests in social justice. Up until this time my efforts had all been in a voluntary capacity such being a tutor in adult literacy and fund raising for the homeless.
At Sutton’s Citizen’s Advice Bureau I trained as an advisor- training which is proving invaluable to me as a councilor. I then took on a role that could have been made for me, Director of the Learning Disability Coalition which I set up from scratch. The Coalition is a group of 14 charities dedicated to working together to safeguard and improve funding for services for people with a learning disability. I had become interested in people with a learning disability as a Citizen Advocate standing up for people who did not have any family to help them manage some of the difficult issues we all face going through life, ill health, moving home, deciding what to do with our lives.
It was a delightful surprise to be elected as a councilor in Sutton South, so soon after realizing that the values and aspirations of Liberal Democracy were where my personal political voyage had taken me. I am very amused that the ill defined concept of the Big Society, announced by the Conservative leadership, has been working well in Sutton since the Liberal Democrats took over the Council 24 years ago- giving as much power over their lives and the services they receive as possible to the local residents
As a councillor my focus is first on the issues that residents bring to me and then on to issues connected with care for vulnerable people. I sit on the Health and Well Being Scrutiny Committee, and, with my colleagues, scrutinise the activities of officers of the council and the Lead Councillor on Health, Colin Stears. I am a council representative on Sutton Council for Voluntary Organisations, Sutton Centre for Independent Living and Learning and the Arts Council.
Peter and me at a "Big Birthday" party!
In my rapidly diminishing spare time I love to sing (but need to find a choir that does not practice on Mondays which is usually a Council evening), go to the cinema and theatre and dabble in crafts. I am also on the Board of the Royal Commonwealth Society, an organization I have been involved with for over 15 years, which aims to promote the Commonwealth as an entity which brings together many diverse cultures and religions and which supports democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”
RICHARD says
“I have lived in Sutton South Ward for over twenty years so have a good understanding of the area and of the opportunities and problems of living here. I think it a wonderful place to live and I am so grateful to my fellow citizens in Sutton South for giving me this opportunity for public service, by electing me as a Councillor for the area I live in and really love.
I was active in politics in the 1960′s, when I was President of the Union of Students at the University of Warwick. Those who have read the book “Warwick University Limited” by E.P. Thompson will know that at that time Warwick was a hotbed of radical ideas. I was for many years a member of the Labour Party but joined the SDP (Social Democratic Party) when it was formed in the 1980′s and, by that route, joined the Liberal Democrats when the former Liberal party merged with the SDP. Being in a coalition Government with the Conservatives is not something that all Liberal Democrats feel comfortable with, but in my view the result of the General Election made entering into the coalition the responsible thing for both parties to do. But we need to have a proper appreciation of what coalition is about – these are two parties with quite distinct and different philosophies, working together as it is in the interests of the nation. The coalition agreement means that there will be compromises and issues, such as student tuition fees, on which our party would have taken a different view, but needs to find common ground. I certainly believe that having Liberal Democrats in a coalition Government is much better than having a Tory Government with free reign to its political right wing.
I have been married to Gloria, who was a museum curator and Head of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich until she retired in March, for over 40 years. Gloria is now a Curator Emeritus of the National Maritime Museum, and is continuing her research interests in the history of scientific instruments, on which she is an internationally recognised authority. Both of our children went to Devonshire Avenue primary school, in our ward, and to a local State secondary school, Nonsuch. I am very proud of my daughters – one of whom is a barrister and the other gives the community great service by working as a marketing and communications officer for a charity for the homeless in Birmingham (St. Basil’s). She also founded and was the first editor of a newspaper for the homeless (The Pavement, West Midlands), something she did as an unpaid volunteer.
Here is a picture of my elder daughter, Jane, at her wedding in 2010. Her husband Tetteh is a fellow barrister. His family come from Ghana though he was born in Northern Ireland. The group is Gloria, Tet, Jane, me, Tet’s mother Vin. The wedding took place in the Gladstone Library of the National Liberal Club.
Here is a picture of my younger daughter, Ellie, at her wedding, the previous year. Her husband, Jeff, works in IT. They were married at the beautiful country church of St. Bartholomew, in Tardebigge, in Worcestershire .
I have been active in local organisations, including at one time being chair of my local residents’ association, the Highfields Residents’ Association.
For much of my career I worked in public service and I was at one time the chair of the Board of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, based in Bilbao, in Spain. This is the principal European Union agency in this field. Given this experience, it was perhaps inevitable that when elected to Sutton Council I would be invited to be chair of the Sutton Joint Health and Safety Committee. My experience as chair of the board of a European Union Agency and, during my career, taking part in European Union Council of Ministers working group meetings negotiating Directives on subjects as diverse as genetic modification and the safety of machinery, has made me a strong supporter of the European Union. Having a group of people from a number of different countries sitting round a table agreeing what is in effect an international standard is of immense value to the citizens of all these countries. I was until April 2011 head of the binational (UK – France) safety organisation for the channel tunnel, established by international Treaty, but decided to retire from this role to concentrate on my activities as a Councillor. I still find time to play the trumpet in a Sutton-based concert band and some other local bands.”
The third important member of our team is Peter Honour, who narrowly failed to get elected when we were elected last May. Peter is a key member of our team. Married to Heather, he chairs our Ward Action Group and is a member of the Sutton Liberal Democrat Party Executive and Management Committee.
Peter says “It was Paul Burstow knocking at our door during the European elections that first awakened my interest in becoming active in local politics. In the campaign before the last election my main concern was to get Paul re-elected. We have a great MP and we must do all can to keep him. I was disappointed not to be elected but there is a huge amount of work that needs to be done in the constituency.”
We were elected to Sutton Council in May 2010 – click on this link to view the election result for Sutton South.
