Six parties unveil manifestos as Lib Dems defend 36-year Sutton Council grip

Sutton Council has belonged to the Liberal Democrats for thirty-six years. On May 7, that grip will be tested by five other parties—Labour, the Conservatives, the Greens, Reform UK, and the Sutton Independents—each armed with a manifesto and the hope that voters are ready for a change. Two hundred and twenty-eight candidates will compete for all fifty-five seats across the South London borough, making this one of the most contested local elections the area has seen in recent memory.

Barry Lewis leads the council now, having taken the helm from Ruth Dombey in May 2024. The current chamber holds twenty-eight Liberal Democrats, twenty Conservatives, three Beddington Independent Residents, two independents, and two Labour councillors. But the landscape is shifting. Reform UK, Nigel Farage's party, is standing candidates in every single ward for the first time—a move that could scramble the traditional two-party balance that has defined Sutton politics for decades. Tony Travers, a professor at the London School of Economics, told the BBC that Reform could peel away seats in areas that voted to leave the European Union in 2016, but probably not enough to dislodge the Lib Dems entirely. "Lib Dems to lose seats but probably just about to retain control," he said. The borough is also represented by two Liberal Democrat MPs, both of whom flipped Conservative seats in 2024.

The manifestos reveal how differently these parties see Sutton's future. The Conservatives promise to fix roads by tackling the worst potholes first, audit pavements, ensure reliable waste collection, and bring enforcement services in-house so the council can hold contractors directly accountable. They want to review parking zones and lobby Transport for London for junction improvements. They pledge that public parks will never be built on. Labour focuses on cost of living, promising to build more affordable council homes and increase local policing. They want to review the Beddington incinerator—a facility that has drawn sustained concern from residents—and expand waste solutions beyond it. They also pledge to support St Helier Hospital and reduce NHS waiting times.

The Green Party's platform centers on climate and accessibility. They want to plant more trees, support walking and cycling, pursue net zero by 2030, and assess schemes like ULEZ and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. They promise to improve home insulation, bring empty homes back into use, and expand recycling while opposing increased incineration. They also commit to supporting refugees and asylum seekers and strengthening resident involvement in planning decisions. The Liberal Democrats, seeking to hold power, promise to create a District Centre Plan for every high street, campaign to extend St Helier Hospital's Emergency Department, identify and improve fifty neighbourhood hotspots, and launch a Community Green Movement.

Reform UK's platform stands apart. The party wants to move away from net zero targets and focus instead on lowering energy costs. It opposes what it calls wasteful local government spending and DEI-focused hiring. Reform promises to cut council tax, take a zero-tolerance approach to antisocial behaviour, and review traffic restrictions—removing twenty-mile-per-hour speed limits and returning to thirty as the default. The party wants to consult on ULEZ's impact and seek changes to what it frames as anti-driver policies. It opposes car-free developments and high-rise housing without adequate parking.

The Sutton Independent Residents, focused on Beddington, want stronger controls on Houses in Multiple Occupation to protect family housing, improved street cleaning, faster pothole repair, and support for home insulation. They call for a full review of SEND provision and better access to GP services in their ward. They also want to reduce incineration of recyclable materials and increase recycling rates.

Transport, housing, and the Beddington incinerator emerge as the threads running through nearly every manifesto. The incinerator in particular divides the parties: Labour and the Greens want to review or oppose it, while others focus on waste solutions more broadly. Transport policy splits sharply along ideological lines. The Conservatives and Reform want to ease traffic and parking restrictions; the Greens want to expand walking, cycling, and public transit. Housing, too, shows the fault lines: Labour and the Greens promise more affordable and social housing; the Conservatives and Sutton Independents emphasize controls on multiple-occupancy homes. On May 7, Sutton voters will decide whether thirty-six years of Liberal Democrat stewardship has earned another term, or whether one of these five challengers has made a case compelling enough to break the pattern.