Bexley Council’s longest serving leader has reflected on her 17 years in the role before she steps away from leadership next month.
Councillor Teresa O’Neill OBE became Baroness O’Neill of Bexley in 2022.
She is the longest serving leader in Bexley’s history, and one of the longest serving in the city, having also been a councillor for 27 years.
As well as stepping down as leader, the Baroness will not run for re-election as a councillor in May in order to focus on her work in the House of Lords.
As she winds down her time in charge of Bexley Council, Cllr O’Neill has had the chance to look back on what the authority has achieved during her stewardship.
Highlights for her include retaining medical services at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup in 2013, and moving the council into its current offices a year later.
Improving healthcare services in the borough was a priority for the Baroness, and she helped open the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Cancer Centre at Queen Mary’s, establish the adult health and social care provider Bexley Care with Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and open the new Community Diagnostic Centre at Queen Mary’s this year.
Cllr O’Neill, who said she’s never been late to any other civic event during her time as leader, was late for the ground breaking of the cancer centre.
This was because her father had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer and she was at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich with him.
Despite the tragic irony, Cllr O’Neill knew the cancer centre would bring so much value to the borough of Bexley as residents wouldn’t have to travel as far for treatment.
Cllr O’Neill was part of a small team that led London’s Covid response during the pandemic, something she was given the freedom of the City Of London for as a result.
When it came to Bexley’s response locally, she was pleased to have helped set up the community champion scheme, which called for local people across the borough to keep in contact with more isolated people in their communities.
Bexley had 70,000 community champions at one stage. Bexley Civic Offices also became a testing centre, and later on it became a clinic to give out vaccinations as well. She added: “We really did stand up for people and I think there was a real community spirit.”
Another achievement the Baroness is particularly proud of is the Bexley Civic Offices building itself, which was officially opened by the former Mayor of London Boris Johnson in October 2014.
The Watling Street building in central Bexleyheath was refurbished at a cost of £21.4m and it brought together around 1,300 council staff from four separate locations across Bexley into one building.
Cllr O’Neill said: “I’m particularly proud of the deal we made in selling the old site and buying this one, making it happen and making it cost effective.
“It was a great investment in our staff, and it’s given people the opportunity for people to have those conversations that they wouldn’t ordinarily have.”
She felt that bringing all of the council’s services under one roof had really strengthened what the council offers to its residents.
The Baroness was also happy to have helped establish two schools in the borough during her time, as well as maintain four grammar schools and secure the right SEN provision for Bexley children.
She added: “If it is out of the borough, you can never really be sure of what education they were getting, and it extended their journey times which wasn’t great.
“But it also meant that they weren’t surrounded by their peers, and if a child needs to progress to adult social care then they will have that support, but if you’re looking for independence then they need that peer group.”
She was also proud of what she had achieved with the borough’s libraries.
After launching a public consultation on them, Cllr O’Neill visited each one and realised that the different locations all catered for different needs within their respective communities.
For example, she found users of the Thamesmead library needed internet access to apply for jobs, while in Slade Green lots of young people were using computers to study.
The council then approached each library differently, and tried to deliver the services their respective users needed most. Cllr O’Neill added: “We don’t want to sweat our assets and it shouldn’t be about the buildings. It should be about the services we’re delivering.”
She was proud of the work the council had done to the borough’s green spaces. The Baroness said: “We’ve built new parks and open spaces and increased them and enhanced them. We’ve made sure all our playground equipment is all accessible to young people.”
A particular highlight was securing the funding to keep Belvedere Beach Playground open all year round.
Cllr O’Neill added: “That was the first fully accessible playground for young people with special needs.”
Other positive things she remembers included bringing in much-needed supermarkets to the borough, such as Waitrose in Sidcup and Morrisons in Welling.
Cllr O’Neill fondly remembers the Olympics in 2012, with Olympic Legacy projects such as Erith Yacht Club being refurbished and Europa Gymnastics Centre being built.
She also remembers the torch travelling through the borough to Danson Park where the council hosted a free event for 20,000 people. Boxing star Lennox Lewis brought the torch into the park and pop rap group Rizzle Kicks performed on the day.
The Baroness also reflected on the more negative experiences of her past 17 years as council leader, including death threats she has received and one instance in which someone said they would firebomb her house.
She said: “You have to remain focused on delivering for people, and I always was.”
Looking ahead to what she will do after leaving the council, Cllr O’Neill intends to focus her efforts on her work in the House of Lords.
She was made a Baroness after the 2022 local election in which the Conservatives maintained control of the council.
In terms of wanting to get stuck into her work in the Lords straight away, Cllr O’Neill knew her duty was still to the borough of Bexley.
She said: “I’d just committed to four years in Bexley. Anyone that knows me, knows my integrity is really very important to me, and there is no way I would have gone back on that.”
She’s hoping to bring some of her experience in public service to the House of Lords, using her voice to get the best she can for the people of Bexley and the rest of London.
When it came to the future of Bexley Council, the Baroness said: “I’m handing over a good ship and I’ve got a capable team.
“I know that they’ll be steady and focused and they want to win the election next year to come back again.
“Most people in Bexley are happy with the services that we provide. That’s the message I tend to give to our new starters.
“Bexley is a nice place to work and there is a nice atmosphere here among work colleagues. Most of our residents are happy with what we do and grateful for what we do.”
When asked about the rise of Reform and what it could mean for the council elections come May, the council leader said that the Tories in charge of the council should continue to tell residents what the council delivers.
She said: “There’s a lot of hype about what they [Reform] say they’re going to do. We’re already doing it in Bexley. We are a well-run and efficient council.
“We’re never going to be absolutely spot on. No one ever is. There’s always work to do, there’s always more to do, but we do it in Bexley. I hope when it comes to it, the electorate are mature enough to recognise and to differentiate and support us and let us continue.”
Cllr O’Neill has been grateful to receive many messages from people she has worked with during her time at the council after she announced her departure last month.
One she didn’t expect to receive was from a young man who she helped secure special education provision for years ago.
She said: “Apparently he’s just bought his first Rolex. That’s what it’s all about.”
