Government-appointed Commissioners are pushing through the appointment of a new finance director at the Town Hall – regardless of who might become Croydon’s new Mayor. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES
The wasteland: Croydon Town Hall presides over massive debts and a decayed town centre, yet they can still find the money for £200,000 per year top jobs
Croydon Council, which has debts of £1.4billion, is about to hire its fifth employee on pay of around £200,000 per year or more.
And they are carrying out the recruitment in a bit of a rush, with the decisive, final interview to be conducted on April 30 – exactly one week before the local elections take place, when, as seems likely, the political outlook at Croydon Town Hall for the next four years could be completely changed.
The recruitment of the legally required Section 151 officer is being conducted during the period of “purdah” at the Town Hall, when much council business has been shut down ahead of the local elections, which means that it is virtually impossible for the matter to be raised, questioned or debated.
It is entirely possible that the interview for the key position of corporate director of resources will be conducted without the new Mayor or anyone from their political party on the panel. Continue reading
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Even before her own party bosses censored her manifesto, there were spending commitments being made by Rowenna Davis, Labour’s candidate for Croydon Mayor, that just don’t add up. LibDem candidate RICHARD HOWARD, pictured left, explains
Less than one month until election day, our Political Editor, WALTER CRONXITE, looks at the latest polls and by-elections to assess – or guess – how the Croydon electorate will vote for executive Mayor on May 7
Nominations for candidates for the May 7 local elections close later today, and the final forms will include independents and single candidates from new parties looking to win a seat at the Town Hall.
One of the candidates for Croydon Mayor has already told Inside Croydon that, if elected, he will abolish the £210,000 role of council chief executive.
Your Party, the leftist grouping backed by several MPs and led in Parliament by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, has announced its candidate for the local elections in Croydon next month.
The price of almost everything has gone up lately. From energy bills to the weekly food shop, households across the UK are feeling the squeeze. This financial pressure is having a major impact on the motor industry. Many people who might have considered a newer or higher-spec model are now rethinking what they can realistically afford.
With Croydon’s Town Hall elections to be held one month today, one mayoral candidate has been ordered to censor her election brochure by party bosses, with MP Reed suspected of being behind move.
