Thanks to all the people who signed the petition demanding answers from Damien Egan, the new Mayor of Lewisham, on why he got rid of Ian Thomas.

This petition has been signed by over 2000 people and it will be handed over on Wednesday 23rd January at the council meeting in Catford by Gwenton Sloley who started this petition (protecting his identity to avoid harassment).

Damien Egan's claim of a "new direction" for the council appears to be nothing more than spin and we think he is just a figurehead and that the senior officers wanted to get rid of Ian Thomas because he threatened to expose their cosy way of running things.

We need to Bring Back Democracy to Lewisham by abolishing the mayoral system, giving power back to councillors and holding them to account for their decisions.  At the moment all power rests with the Mayor so he has to take responsibility for issues like the housing shortage, the high number of exclusions from school, lack of opportunities for young people due to closure of playgroups and youth clubs.

Gwenton has decided to stand for election to the council when Janet Daby steps down from her council seat in Whitefoot Ward (she was elected to parliament last June but is trying to do both jobs at the moment). He chose to stand as a Lewisham People Before Profit candidate - the local campaign group set up 10 years ago to challenge the Lewisham Labour policies of cuts and privatisation.

We need Gwenton as a voice in the council for all those people who don't trust the 54 Labour councillors to speak up when the Mayor makes a bad decision.

Come and meet Gwenton at 7.30pm on Wednesday 30th January at a public meeting in Whitefoot at the Goldsmiths Community Centre, Castillon Road, SE6 1QD.

To help in Gwenton's campaign please email Gwenton4Whitefoot@lpbp.org.uk