Ruth Mary Shaw (1927 – 31 January 2024) was a British politician.

Life and career

Shaw joined the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

at an early age, and in the 1950s founded the first Young Liberals group in

Sutton, London Sutton is the principal town in the London Borough of Sutton in South London, England. It lies on the lower slopes of the North Downs, and is the administrative headquarters of the Outer London borough. It is south-south west of Charing Cross ...

. She stood repeatedly for the party in the North West ward of the

Municipal Borough of Sutton and Cheam Sutton and Cheam was a local government district in north east Surrey, England from 1882 to 1965. History Sutton Local Government District was formed on 20 December 1882, when the (civil) parish of Sutton adopted the Local Government Act 1858. ...

, finally winning a seat on her seventh attempt, in 1961. When the area became part of the

London Borough of Sutton The London Borough of Sutton () is a London borough in south-west London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It borders the London Borough of Croydon to ...

, she won election to the new body, and by 1973 was the party's spokesperson on education. Shaw stood for election in Sutton and Cheam at the

1973 Greater London Council election The fourth election to the Greater London Council was held on 12 April 1973. Labour won a large majority of 58 seats to 32 for the Conservatives; the Liberals also won their first two seats on the council. Electoral arrangements As there had b ...

, winning the seat – one of only two Liberals on the council (along with

Stanley Rundle Anthony Stanley Richard Rundle OBE (September 1913 – 17 September 1978) was a British politician and philologist. Rundle was born in Wales, and grew up bilingual in Welsh and English.Graham Lippiatt,Liberals and Local Government in London sin ...

). She put her victory down to "community politics" and the party's opposition to the

Ringway 3 The London Ringways were a series of four ring roads planned in the 1960s to circle London at various distances from the city centre. They were part of a comprehensive scheme developed by the Greater London Council (GLC) to alleviate traffic con ...

project. She was given a place on the council's Transport Committee. At the

1977 Greater London Council election Elections to the Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a muc ...

, Shaw was the party's

campaign manager {{Political campaigning A campaign manager, campaign chairman, or campaign director is a paid or volunteer individual whose role is to coordinate a political campaign's operations such as fundraising, advertising, polling, getting out the vote ( ...

, but she lost her seat on the council. However, she was regularly re-elected to the borough council, and was councillor for Worcester Park North from 1986 to 1990 and North Cheam from 1990 to 2002. During her tenure, she oversaw the implementation of accessible bus services and successfully pushed to change the Planning Commission's name to Development Control. In 2011, she was named an honorary

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of the council, and she was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 2013. Shaw died on 31 January 2024, at the age of 97.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Ruth 1927 births 2024 deaths Councillors in Greater London Members of the Greater London Council Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Liberal Party (UK) councillors Officers of the Order of the British Empire Politicians from the London Borough of Sutton Women councillors in England