There’s another example of just how “open and transparent” the business of the council has become since Labour took control of the Town Hall after the local elections.
Sir Frederick Edridge was five times Mayor of Croydon as well as Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Surrey, and High Sheriff in 1909. It was a wonder he wasn’t made Lord High Water Buffalo as well
Tonight, before the main business of the cabinet meeting, there is another meeting, “the Mayoralty and Honorary Freedom Sub-Committee”.
The invitees list is a select bunch, just council leader Tony Newman, Whitgift Foundation governor Toni Letts, and Pat Ryan, the Labour group’s veteran chief whip, plus two Tories, Dudley Mead, another Whitgift Foundation governor, and the ex-leader of the Croydon Conservatives, Mike “I decided I was going to need to take some of the money, which is what I did” Fisher. It’ll be intriguing to see whether the florid-faced one turns up, or whether his loyal deputy, Tim Pollard, takes his place.
The last time this sub-committee met was in January. It was the first time it had convened for a year. A measure of how important it must be is that Newman, then the leader of the opposition, didn’t bother to turn up, and didn’t send any apologies, either. The meeting was done and dusted in seven minutes.
Tonight’s convening of the mayoralty and honorary freedom sub-committee could be similarly brief. There are but eight items on the agenda. Key is item 7, in which the report to the meeting recommends a special meeting of the full council for “the granting of the Honorary Alderman/woman titles to all those who will be eligible, as detailed in report B2”.
Now this “Honorary Alderman” business is so dated, it’s not “so last century”, but comes from the century before that, of Trumpton-esque tri-corn hats, silly chains of office and meaningful Masonic handshakes.
But Croydon Council continues to dole out the “honour” to various ex-mayors, worthies and time-servers.
We would like to be able to report who is being recommended for the honour at tonight’s meeting (surely not Eddy Arram? Or David Osland?).
But we can’t.
The identity of anyone eligible is restricted to the Part B agenda for the meeting (as referenced above, to “report B2”), which will be conducted in secret, excluding members of the press and public.
Croydon Council in 2014. The acme of openness and transparency. And out-dated honours.
Coming to Croydon
- Soul Symphony Community Choir sessions, Sep 16-Dec 23
- Police question time, LNK at Centrale, Sep 17
- David Lean Cinema: Chef, Sep 18
- Norwood Society Talk: Remembering the Great War, Sep 18
- The Complete History of the BBC – Abridged, Spread Eagle, Sep 19-20
- Cinema Ruskin film show, Sep 20
- South Croydon business breakfast, Sep 20
- Open House London weekend, Sep 20-21
- David Lean Cinema: A Night At The Cinema in 1914, Sep 22
- Activity to Work back-to-work workshops, Sep 23
- David Lean Cinema: Jimmy’s Hall, Sep 25
- Streatham Common 6M race, Sep 27
- Fancy dress family funday, Sep 28
- Ukrainian choir concert, St John’s Shirley, Sep 29
- Tree Sides, Spread Eagle Theatre, Oct 2-4
- The Goon Show, Spread Eagle Theatre, Oct 8-11
- Norwood Society Talk: From Fire Station to Theatre, Oct 16
- Cinema Ruskin film show, Oct 18
- South Croydon business breakfast, Oct 18
- This Was The World and I Was King, Spread Eagle, Oct 23-25
- Albert Einstein – Relativity Speaking, Spread Eagle, Nov 12-15
- South Croydon business breakfast, Nov 15
- Norwood Society Talk: Lambeth’s Archives, Nov 20
- Choose Your Own Documentary, Spread Eagle Theatre, Nov 21-22
- The Last Sense of Sudden, Spread Eagle Theatre, Nov 27-29
- Ghost Stories for Christmas, Spread Eagle Theatre, Dec 3
- Fog Horn Funnies, Spread Eagle Theatre, Dec 6
- South Croydon business breakfast, Dec 13
- South Croydon business breakfast, Jan 24
Inside Croydon: Croydon’s only independent news source, based in the heart of the borough: 407,847 page views (Jan-Jun 2014) If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, a residents’ or business association or local event, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
We need six to attend this sub-committee: Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub.
All the politicians involved, Left, Right and Can’t-Make-Their-Minds-Up, should remember what Aristotle said some time ago: “Dignity does not consist in possessing honours, but in deserving them.”