Danny Thorpe, the Greenwich Council leader who led the borough through the coronavirus crisis, has stood down as a councillor after 20 years at the town hall.
The Shooters Hill councillor became leader in 2018, but lost his position as leader two years ago when Anthony Okereke beat him by one vote in a poll of their fellow Labour councillors. He had previously spent four years as cabinet member for regeneration under his predecessor, Denise Hyland.
Thorpe’s departure will mean the third council by-election of the year, likely to take place at the end of October or start of November. Shooters Hill – which Thorpe, 42, has represented since 2004 – has been a safe Labour seat for many years.
“Due to some changes in my life since the election, I’m no longer able to dedicate the time I once had to my duties and the time has come for me to step down,” he said on social media on Sunday.
“I’m immensely proud to have given over 20 years of public service to Greenwich and had the opportunity to serve.”
After losing the leadership Thorpe, who was previously a teacher, took a job with the troubled housing association Clarion, where he was recently promoted to director of communications.
The coronavirus crisis dominated Thorpe’s time as leader, and he led from the front by taking a leading role in obtaining PPE for essential workers and later volunteering to give vaccinations himself.
In December 2020 when he unilaterally announced on a Sunday afternoon he was closing the borough’s schools because of a rise in cases, catching both teachers and his fellow London council leaders by surprise, and teeing up a public row with Gavin Williamson, Boris Johnson’s education secretary. Williamson ordered Greenwich to keep its schools open.
Thorpe’s heavy use of social media gave him a high profile, but it also drew criticism and mockery from rivals, and he was nicknamed “Councillor Selfie” by detractors.
Perhaps Thorpe’s most enduring policy was beginning Greenwich’s first major home-building programme in decades, beginning the process of building 750 council homes by the end of 2022 – something some other south London Labour councils failed to do.
His manifesto for the last council election included 1,000 more homes – a promise his successor Okereke will now have to deliver on.
“Danny, you’ve been an outstanding public servant for over two decades. As a Labour councillor for Shooters Hill, you’ve delivered tirelessly for your constituents,” Okereke said on social media.
“Through the pandemic, your leadership was marked by strength and compassion, ensuring PPE and vaccinations for all.
“Your dedicated service, including volunteering yourself, has made a lasting impact on our borough. Your achievements are too many to mention, but examples like Greenwich Builds stand out. I’m sure that whatever direction you take, you’ll bring the same passion and dedication to it.”
“We will really miss him at the Town Hall,” Lauren Dingsdale, a Labour councillor for Eltham Town said. “Two memories stand out to me: him taking my crying seven-week old baby for me so I could give my victory speech in the local elections, and him picking up my brother from hospital for me when I had to stay there with my mum. “Top councillor. Top friend. A true gent.”
Opposition Conservative leader Matt Hartley said: “Really sorry to hear this news today. Lots to be proud of – particularly what you did during Covid. Thank you for two decades of public service to Greenwich and being a good friend to others – even your opponents! – through it all too.”
Thorpe has taken on a big job at Clarion, which has been sanctioned several times by the social housing regulator. In August, it was revealed that Clarion had been fined after not fixing a child’s bedroom window for four years, leading to the home becoming mouldy and the family becoming ill.
Three years ago it was widely criticised after squalid conditions on its Eastfields estate, in Mitcham, were revealed by ITV News.
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