Haringey’s Liberal Democrat opposition leader is standing down due to the “increasing difficulty” of spearheading her party alongside “family commitments”.
Cllr Liz Morris, appointed in May 2018, called it an “honour” to have served the “amazing” borough as she paid tribute to community groups and their response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new opposition leader will be chosen by Lib Dem councillors on July 1, and will be ratified at a meeting of Haringey Council on July 13.
Cllr Morris will continue as a councillor for Highgate, the ward she has represented since 2014.
Cllr Morris said in a statement: “I have made this decision now as family reasons have made it increasingly difficult for me to balance the additional responsibilities being group leader brings.
“It has been an honour to serve the amazing people of Haringey and to represent the Liberal Democrats in our borough.
“I have had the privilege of meeting so many of our fantastic community and voluntary groups in Haringey.
“They are the backbone of our borough and have been critical in our response to the Covid-19 crisis.
“I also pay tribute to the support and advice I have received from the many excellent officers who work at the council.”
Cllr Morris was appointed as deputy leader of the Haringey Liberal Democrats in 2015.
After the local elections of May 2018 where the party increased its number of councillors from eight to 15, Cllr Morris became leader.
Looking back two years on, she said she is proud of the group’s work including lobbying the council to become a Living Wage employer, endorsing LGBT+ rights and fighting to reduce pollution around schools.
Cllr Morris said looks forward to “continuing to serve” the Highgate community as a local councillor, which she called “one of the best jobs ever”.
Cllr Josh Dixon, deputy leader of the Haringey Liberal Democrats, said: “I want to thank Liz for her excellent leadership over the last two years.
“As a newly elected councillor myself in 2018, her counsel and support was crucial and she always led from the front whilst also empowering newly elected members to speak up on the issues they were passionate about.”
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