Sadly yesterday my ward colleague and friend Cllr Richard Thomas resigned his executive councillor Regeneration position. Richard has been on Southwark Councils executive since 2002. He led the successful charge of a step increase in recycling. He has profoundly moved the environment and regeneration agendas on. I do feel deeply saddened as he is so passionate for positive change. A sad day for any one who cares about Southwark.

I used to cynical about politicians saying they were taking a step back to spend more time with their families. Even as a back bench ouncillor with a young family I can absolutely sympathise. To also be head hunted shows what an asset Richard is and that we’re losing. It really does highlight how we expect local politicians with incredibly big responsibilities to do the job for largely the love of it. Perhaps this is why such a disproportionate number of councillors are retired or have no family responsibilities.

However, I do know that Richard will still be a great local councillor for East Dulwich.