I’m delighted to be your Labour councillor for the Wandle ward. I’ve met many local residents in the run up to the election in May 2022 and at events since, and knew more of you before from having lived in the area for many years.
For those who don’t know me – I live near The Sultan pub, and my daughter goes to Garfield Primary School. My parents still live off North Road, where they moved to over 20 years ago when I was a teenager.
Most recently, I’ve had responsibility for children and education in Merton, steering us through the pandemic, ensuring our schools were supported and that we continued to provide help for vulnerable families throughout the lockdowns. When the Government stopped funding food vouchers during the holidays, I made sure we continued to provide them for eligible families, to tackle holiday hunger. My professional career has been focused on “what works” in education, and I’ve used this knowledge in my roles in Merton.
Ofsted came and inspected our whole Children’s Services department a few months ago. They were unable to publish the report during the election campaign, but I am delighted that they concluded that Merton delivers Outstanding services for children. The inspectorate said “Excellent services … are making a positive difference to enrich the daily lived experiences of children, while making them safer.”
It it is because we have a Labour-run council that we were able to achieve this – we have made the political decision to protect vital services for vulnerable children and adults.
I have now had the honour of being being elected as Deputy Leader of Merton Council, and be given responsiblity for Civic Pride, which includes supporting our local businesses and charities, and looking after community safety and culture.
Please do keep in touch – contact me with any questions or issues, or follow me on Facebook (facebook.com/cllrstringer) or Twitter (eleanormerton1), or sign up to receive email updates from me here.
