It is believed Ian Thomas and mayor Damien Egan (Lab), who won the borough’s mayoral election in May, found it difficult to work with one another.
A spokesperson for the council said: “Ian Thomas was appointed by Lewisham Council before the last local elections under the previous administration.
“Since May 2018, the new administration in Lewisham has reviewed its ways of working. With no negative reflection on Ian, it has been decided to take a new direction and following a constructive dialogue with Ian, he has agreed to step aside from his role at the end of this year.”
Always a difficult decision to choose a CEO (or to terminate their employment) and for them to work effectively with politicians. It will be interesting to see if they keep the role of CEO or ‘take a new direction’. Perhaps they will ask the community to run the whole council as well as the libraries 
