ALL the current directly elected Mayors in London are Labour which is why some may say it is surprising that the party hierarchy are so vehemently against having one in Croydon.

The main reason of course is that the majority who voted to trigger the referendum are in the Conservative supporting south where the campaign started. Coupled with a low turn out in Labour strongholds the party fears that a ‘for’ vote would see a Tory Mayor voted in next May’s local election,

So the local Labour party has pursued a hard line against a DEM making it about the Tory cuts – claiming it is a plan to waste millions – and urging residents to vote for ‘local services’ and not a ‘fat-cat mayor’.

Despite this, Croydon Labour is facing apathy within its core electorate, particular in the north, who have been worst affected by the council’s financial situation which has significantly impacted on ‘visible’ frontline services.

Labour has blamed the council’s fortunes on the government funding settlement, saying its financial circumstances are caused by a 76 per cent cut and broken promises on extra support during the pandemic, which it says drove up the council tax. The government had to step in to bail out Croydon to the tune of £120million after it went bankrupt last November. This was despite repeated warnings to the Labour administration over many years from external auditors about the precarious state of the council’s finances.

 The council, also, in a bid to budget for shortfalls in funding, made poor investments in commercial properties including; shopping centres and the Croydon Park Hotel which it is now having to sell at a loss of £10million.

This coupled with protracted scandals over the cost of the refurbishment of Fairfield Hall and its disastrous venture in to house building with Brick by Brick has been damaging and made worse by the Regina Road housing scandal which saw the Labour management of the council castigated on national ITV news.

The bankruptcy has resulted in cuts to all services but are particularly impacting on the vulnerable and have left communities complaining they are not being listened to. 

However, a Croydon Labour News referendum special posted through residents doors fails to take ownership for any of these failings and seems out of step with reality. 

Leader Hamida Ali blames Croydon Conservatives, who haven’t been in power for six years, for leaving Croydon with a £1billion debt.

She claims to be ‘fighting for local people’ and lists amongst her achievements stabilising the council’s finances even at a cost to jobs and services.

The leader also cites saving the regular bin and recycling collections despite some residents recycling now being incinerated and increased reports of missed recycling collections which the council is saying is down to the impact of the HGV driver shortage. 

Croydon Central MP Sarah Jones is pictured next to a message which says Labour has called on the government to bring in tough new laws to crack down on anti social behaviour and noise nuisance, but even with the current legislation the council no longer has the resources to even remove graffiti or pursue noise complaints in the borough.

The main reason of course is that the majority who voted to trigger the referendum are in the Conservative supporting south where the campaign started. Coupled with a low turn out in Labour strongholds the party fears that a ‘for’ vote would see a Tory Mayor voted in next May’s local election,

So the local Labour party has pursued a hard line against a DEM making it about the Tory cuts – claiming it is a plan to waste millions – and urging residents to vote for ‘local services’ and not a ‘fat-cat mayor’.

Despite this, Croydon Labour is facing apathy within its core electorate, particular in the north, who have been worst affected by the council’s financial situation which has significantly impacted on ‘visible’ frontline services.

Labour has blamed the council’s fortunes on the government funding settlement, blaming its financial circumstances on an alleged 76 per cent cut along with broken promises on extra support during the pandemic, which it says drove up the council tax. The government had to step in to bail out Croydon to the tune of £120million after it went bankrupt last November. This was despite repeated warnings to the Labour administration over many years from external auditors about the precarious state of the council’s finances.

 The council, also, in a bid to budget for shortfalls in funding, made poor investments in commercial properties including; shopping centres and the Croydon Park Hotel which it is now having to sell at a loss of £10million.

This coupled with protracted scandals over the cost of the refurbishment of Fairfield Hall and its disastrous venture in to house building with Brick by Brick has been damaging and made worse by the Regina Road housing scandal which saw the Labour management of the council castigated on national ITV news.

The bankruptcy has resulted in cuts to all services but are particularly impacting on the vulnerable and have left communities complaining they are not being listened to. 

However, a Croydon Labour News referendum special posted through residents doors fails to take ownership for any of these failings and seems out of step with reality. Leader Hamida Ali blames Croydon Conservatives, who haven’t been in power for six years, for leaving Croydon with a £1billion debt.

She claims to be ‘fighting for local people’ and lists amongst her achievements stabilising the council’s finances even though that has been at a cost to jobs and services.

The leader also cites saving the regular bin and recycling collections even though some residents recycling is now being incinerated and others  are not being collected because of the impact of the HGV driver shortage. 

The propaganda also features Croydon Labour MPs Steve Reed and Sarah Jones who blame the Conservatives for being soft on crime and wanting to allow developers to build on green spaces and back gardens.

Croydon Central MP Sarah Jones is pictured next to a message which says Labour has called on the government to bring in tough new laws to crack down on anti social behaviour and noise nuisance, but even with the current legislation the council no longer has the resources to even remove graffiti or pursue noise complaints in the borough.