VOTE 2014: After eight years of running Croydon Council, the leader of the Conservative group, MIKE FISHER, the man who approved the building of a £140 million council headquarters building, calls for your support in tomorrow’s local elections by claiming to have cut waste and cut Council Tax

Council leader Mike Fisher: relying on his record

On Thursday, Croydon residents will once again choose who will control services and the direction of Croydon for the next four years. They have a straight choice to make between an efficient Conservative council or going back to the tax and spend policies of Labour. Whatever the other parties say, this is a two-horse race; only the Conservatives or Labour can win control of the council on Thursday.

Over the last eight years your Conservative council has controlled expenditure and cut waste, resulting in a real terms cut of 4.5 per cent in Council Tax. Compare this to Labour’s record when it was last in charge: it more than doubled the Council Tax that you had to pay in real terms. We understand that people have had to tighten their belts and the last thing hard-working families need is an increasing Council Tax. That is why we gave every Council Tax-payer a £25 efficiency refund in April. Labour councilors voted against this and have promised an “emergency budget” in June if they are elected.

This election is vitally important for Croydon for another reason. The town stands on the brink of a huge regeneration that will bring jobs, new homes and real opportunities for local people. At the heart of this is the £1 billion Westfield-Hammerson retail development in the town centre. This scheme alone will provide 5,000 new jobs for residents across the borough and provide hundreds of new homes in the town centre. Last week, London Mayor Boris Johnson visited Croydon. He reiterated that without the leadership of the Conservative council, this scheme would not have gone ahead.

Over the next five years the wider policies and plans your Conservative council has put in place will deliver 16,500 new jobs and over 9,000 new homes for local people.

We have also worked hard to improve local services. Recycling rates have almost trebled thanks to our expansion of recycling opportunities. GCSE A* to C passes achieved by Croydon pupils have risen every year that we have been in power and our adult social care department is rated as one of the best in the country.

So when it comes to running the council, we have a proven track record of financial efficiency, providing care for the vulnerable, ensuring our children get a good education and bringing about much needed regeneration.

The election of a Labour council would put all that at risk. Their record in power was appalling. Some people often use local elections as an opportunity to vote for other parties to send a message to the national Government. That is a risky strategy: if you vote for UKIP as a way of sending a message, you risk electing a Labour council and that is in nobody’s interest.

So if you want jobs for local people, new homes for local families, better services for all and the certainty that your council will look after your town, then you should vote Conservative this Thursday.

• Mike Fisher is the leader of Croydon Council and is standing as a candidate in Shirley ward

Inside Croydon’s recent coverage of the local elections:

• The Croydon party line: UKIP
• The Croydon party line: LibDems
• The Croydon party line: TUSC
• Policy analysis 1: The incinerator
• Policy analysis 2: Hammersfield
• Policy analysis 3: Crime
• ADDISCOMBE: Labour looking vulnerable to Barwell’s push
• Council CEO parrots Tory party line in official press releases
• Conservatives snub hustings as sham candidates exposed
• Council allowances and local politicians’ secret consensus
• The list of candidates for the May 22 local elections

Coming to Croydon

• David Lean Cinema: The Rocket, May 22
• Songs From The Ledge, Spread Eagle Theatre, May 23
• Greek Myths: stories and mask-making, May 27
• Howard Marks: Scholar, Smuggler, Prisoner, Scribe, May 29
• David Lean Cinema: Dallas Buyers Club, May 29
• Tales from Ancient Greece, Upper Norwood Library, May 29
• Upper Norwood Library Book Club, May 31
• Stitch Pitch quilting workshop, Upper Norwood Library, June 2
• Croydon Tech City “summit”, June 6
• An Improvised Murder, Spread Eagle Theatre, June 7
• Lakes Playground Action Group fun day, June 14
• Elm Tree Cottage garden open day, June 15
• Norwood Society Talk: The Concrete Church, June 19
• Classic Car Show at Purley Rotary Fields, June 22
• Crystal Palace Overground Festival, June 26-29
• Warnings to the Curious, Spread Eagle Theatre, June 27
• South Norwood Allotments open day, June 28
• Fragile, Spread Eagle Theatre, July 24-26
• Elm Tree Cottage garden open day, Aug 10
• Norwood Society Talk: War Memorials, Sep 18
• Norwood Society Talk: From Fire Station to Theatre, Oct 16
• Norwood Society Talk: Lambeth’s Archives, Nov 20

Inside Croydon: Croydon’s only independent news source, based in the heart of the borough: 72,342 average monthly page views (Jan-Mar 2014)

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