Sheffield Council Leader Julie Dore announces she is quitting

Coun Dore will not seek re-election in her Park and Arbourthorne ward but will remain Leader of the Council until then.

She said: “My term ends this May and I have had to make a decision about carrying on for another four years. I feel that from a personal perspective, this is the right time for me to move on.

“I truly believe in what this city stands for - its values of solidarity, collectivism, hard work, integrity, humility, grit and determination, its character and most of all its people.

“The opportunity to represent Sheffield both inside and outside of the city and to fight for our values has been such an honour for me so above all else I would like to think the people of Sheffield for giving me this opportunity.”

A councillor for 20 years, she became Leader in 2011. Her announcement comes just two weeks after former chief executive John Mothersole retired from the authority.

Coun Dore added: “It has been an incredible honour to represent the community where I have grown up, lived throughout my life and my family live in and to see it transform over that time and to serve the city as Leader for the past nine years.

“I would like to thank all of the people I have worked with across the city, from so many different walks of life whose commitment and dedication to Sheffield and to all the different communities within it are so crucial in making us the city that we are.”

She came to power at the start of 10 years of Government austerity which has seen the council grapple with cuts of £460m.

“I would like to thank all the people who work for Sheffield Council and are overwhelmingly committed to public service and to the city and do their jobs to make a difference to people’s lives.

“I have been inspired by this, particularly at a time when the council has been operating in extremely challenging circumstances dealing with central government budget cuts, year after year, for a decade.”

She said she wanted to get involved in politics to “help improve lives” and be an advocate and voice for people most in need.

“Representing Park and Arbourthorne I still see every day the injustice of inequality, which is something that is experienced from day one of your life, or even before you are born.

“It remains the case in Sheffield that whilst some of our children enjoy the best school results in the country far too many are still coming out of school without a grade C in maths and English, people are going into low paid insecure work, if and when they can get it, and it means that whilst some people are growing up in our city in some of the most affluent parts of the country, others are growing up in households on the poverty line.

“Doing everything we can to change this, is for me the focus for us as public servants and I have tried to make it something close to my heart in the decisions and service I have given over the past 20 years.

“I believe that there is no other city like Sheffield. I think its future is something that we must continue to fight for.”