Ruth Mary Shaw (1927 – 31 January 2024) was a British Liberal 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. For example, while the political systems ...

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

Sutton, London Sutton is a town in the London Borough of Sutton in South London, England. It is the administrative headquarters of the Outer London borough, on the lower slopes of the North Downs. It is south-southwest of Charing Cross, one of the fourteen ...

. She stood repeatedly for the party in the North West ward of the Municipal Borough of Sutton and Cheam, 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 an Outer London London boroughs, borough in south London, England. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It borders the London Borough of Croydon to the east, ...

, 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 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 Miami Dolphins defeated the Washington Redsk ...

, winning the seat – one of only two Liberals on the council (along with Stanley Rundle). She put her victory down to "community politics" and the party's opposition to the Ringway 3 project. She was given a place on the council's Transport Committee. At the

1977 Greater London Council election The fifth election to the Greater London Council (GLC) was held on 5 May 1977. The Conservatives, led by Horace Cutler, gained control of the council from Labour. Electoral arrangements The GLC was elected from 92 single-member electoral divi ...

, Shaw was the party's

campaign manager A campaign manager, campaign chairperson, or campaign director is an individual whose role is to coordinate a political campaign's spending, broad tactics, and hiring. They lead operations such as Campaign finance, fundraising, advertising, Opi ...

, 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 jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

2014 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

. 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