A Greenwich Labour councillor who spoke up for local residents protesting against the sale of council land in her ward has quit after being threatened with a six-week suspension.
Ivis Williams, who had been a councillor since 2018, spoke out in March about the disposal of the Greenwich Equestrian Centre, as well as the sale of Green Garth, a bungalow that the operators of the Shrewsbury House Community Centre had hoped to take over.
She had warned that the number of people who had signed petitions against the sales indicated that Labour was under threat in her Shooters Hill ward.
But Greenwich Council’s Labour group responded by launching a disciplinary investigation, in which her fellow councillor, Raja Zeeshan, gave evidence against her. Williams only discovered the full allegations against her after she resigned – and the proposed sanction of a six-week suspension – when details of the investigation were sent to her in a 25-page document.
The suspension – which would have come at the the start of selections for next year’s council elections – was recommended so Williams would “understand the severity of her actions and to highlight the implication of such actions to the wider group”.
Williams has also now quit the Labour Party altogether in disgust. One of the community groups she had spoken up for accused Greenwich Labour of “persecuting” Williams and “treating her cruelly”.
Her resignation means an awkward by-election in Shooters Hill, where many residents remain furious with the council about the planned land sales. To call a poll, two residents from anywhere in the borough need to write to the council’s chief executive, Debbie Warren, and request an election.
In her resignation email to Warren, Williams said: “I have faced significant challenges and undue stress in the course of fulfilling my duties and advocating for the interests of my residents and community. These circumstances are unfortunately hindering my ability to effectively carry out my responsibilities as a councillor.”
Council leader Anthony Okereke said in an email to Labour councillors on Thursday that he was “deeply disappointed” that Williams had “triggered an unnecessary by-election, but I wish her the best in her future endeavours”.
The sales of both the equestrian centre – a pet project of Chris Roberts, a former council leader, and opened by the Princess Royal in 2013 – and Green Garth were nodded through by the council’s cabinet in November without discussion.
Green Garth is a former air raid wardens’ shelter in the grounds of Shrewsbury House that had been converted into a bungalow. The last resident at 28 Mereworth Drive died in 2016 and the community centre had previously been in talks with the council about taking it on.
After receiving hundreds of complaints from residents, Williams had hoped to challenge the decision at a call-in meeting, but was warned off in an email from the council’s deputy leader, Averil Lekau, on the grounds that the party’s councillors had already endorsed the plan at a behind-closed-doors meeting at the end of September.
This was despite Labour having allowed a similar challenge to the low-traffic neighbourhood in Greenwich and Blackheath. In the event, the Conservatives submitted a challenge and Labour councillors rejected the call-in.
On March 26, residents presented petitions against the sale plans, and afterwards, Williams said the council should pause to allow residents to put together bids for the land, and that residents needed to temper their expectations because of the council’s financial problems.
“The number of people who signed those petitions exceeds 2,000,” she said.”These petition signatures were higher than some of our votes. So we just need to listen to residents.”
The Greenwich Wire reported these comments, made in open council, a few days later. According to the disciplinary documents, prepared by Liz Ige, a Woolwich Common councillor and the chief whip, our reporting of an open council meeting was an aggravating factor in Labour’s pursuit of Williams, because it “caused a degree of embarrassment to the party locally and confirms the intent behind Cllr Ivis Williams’ statement at full council”.
Williams said that her concerns should not have come as a surprise to Okereke as she had written to both him and Pippa Hack, the council’s director of regeneration – who left the town hall at the end of March – to outline her worries.
After the meeting, Williams took time off because two relatives in Jamaica had died and she wanted to attend their funerals. She said she believed there was no problem with her comments at the council meeting, but was summoned to a meeting with Ige upon her return.
“It was only after returning on April 17 that I realised there was an issue,” she told The Greenwich Wire. “That’s when I received a letter in the post to say that I’d breached something.”
Williams was told to attend a meeting with Ige on Tuesday, a day when she also had another meeting at the town hall, but felt unwell with stress and high blood pressure and was signed off for two weeks by a doctor. She also said she had not been given enough time to find someone to support her in the hearing.
After news broke of a stabbing on the Barnfield Estate on Wednesday, she logged back into the council email system to see if there was any information that councillors should know. Instead she found an email telling her the disciplinary hearing would take place in her absence.
“I then decided enough was enough,” she said. “I resigned from the council.”
It was only after she resigned that she was sent the disciplinary pack, with a note from Ige to say that the party’s London region would now be picking up the case.
“I made me angry and I did a thing that I wasn’t intending to do – I actually went and cancelled my Labour Party membership,” Williams said.
“I was disgusted, especially when I read the statement from my co-councillor, who I thought shared the same views. That’d gone over and beyond what I expect from any Labour Party member.”
Williams said she had previously got on well with Zeeshan, who was only elected in November last year.
Zeeshan is alleged to have said that Williams’ comments – and The Greenwich Wire’s reporting of it – made it “evident she has publicly aligned herself with residents opposing the asset disposals. Collectively, these actions and statements clearly indicate her disagreement with the Labour Group’s agreed position on this matter.” Zeeshan declined to comment when approached by The Greenwich Wire.
Williams, who was cabinet member for finance in Okereke’s first year as leader, insisted that she was calling for the sales to be paused rather than scrapped altogether.
“I think the council needs to listen to residents,” she said. “How we consult needs to be done properly. We can’t do tick-box exercises, otherwise people will feel disenfranchised. We need to be listening to residents, but also responding to them in a timely manner and being fair.
“I have nothing against Anthony’s leadership. I’m actually quite supportive. This is very upsetting for me, because I was one of the ones who bought his vision. I was in his cabinet.”
One councillor who spoke to The Greenwich Wire on condition of anonymity said that Williams was “beyond reproach” and said Okereke “had a problem with strong women and gay men”, referring to the four of the five councillors to have left the Labour group or resigned since he took charge in 2022: Williams, Majella Anning, Danny Thorpe and Chris Lloyd. A fifth Labour councillor, Lloyd’s husband, Sammy Backon, resigned in September as he had landed a job outside London, with the couple moving to Wales.
Williams said: “The leadership has a problem with strong black women. It’s not just stronger women. It’s stronger black women. If Anthony is challenged, you become a target. I think it’s a lack of experience on his part, so there is no flexibility. I do partly share the view that there is a problem with people who know their own opinion.”
Barry Gray, of the Woodlands Farm Trust, who had petitioned against the sale of the equestrian centre next door, told The Greenwich Wire: “ Ivis is a valued trustee of the farm and we felt she was representing the farm and her constituents’ views very fairly. She didn’t oppose the decision as far as we can see, she was asking for a pause, and we’re absolutely stunned by the sheer cruelty of the decision to persecute her and drive her out of the party.”
Sally Mcdougal, the chair of trustees at Shrewsbury House, said: “Ivis truly cared about Shooters Hill and local residents, she always made the time to attend meetings, chat to people, and support local events. As chair of trustees, I have worked very closely with her across a number of topics and she been consistently open, engaged, and committed to representing us.
“She was a strong supporter of Shrewsbury House and what we offer to local people and her dedication to all of her constituents will be greatly missed. I have the utmost respect for her and wish her all the very best in the future.”
Okereke told The Greenwich Wire: “It’s disappointing that Ivis has chosen to resign from Greenwich Council. She’s worked hard for her constituents, and I wish her all the best for the future. While in many cases by-elections are unavoidable, I’m disappointed that Ivis chose to resign without first discussing her options with us. By-elections come at a considerable cost to the taxpayer and it’s a pity that Shooters Hill residents are being asked to go to the polls again – especially just a year out from the end of the current term.”
Asked about the alleged “problem with strong women and gay men”, Okereke added: “This simply could not be further from the truth. Six of the eight members of my cabinet are women and we are proud to be a diverse group, representing a diverse borough. Our candidate selection procedures for next year’s elections will support this, including through the use of all-women shortlists.”
A Greenwich Labour source said: “It is deeply disrespectful to other women of colour on Greenwich Council – and particularly those in leadership roles – to imply that they are not strong black women.”
London Labour said that it did not comment on disciplinary matters.
Matt Hartley, the Conservative leader, said: “These explosive revelations are deeply damaging to the Labour Party and should be a serious wake-up call on the health of our local democracy in Greenwich. Ivis Williams has been treated appallingly for trying to speak up for her residents, and I applaud her for speaking out.
“The whole sorry episode shows once again that the Labour leadership of Greenwich Council will always put their own petty rivalries and party politics above the interests of local residents.”
Updated at 10.10pm to correct and clarify a line about the number of councillors who had left Labour and to include a quote from Matt Hartley.
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