Same old, same old: Jason Perry got the seal of approval from those who hope to receive generous allowances. The Tories have, though, upped their game on banners
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Any delusions that having a directly elected mayor might be anything other than #ABitLessShit were quickly dispelled yesterday as the local Tories reverted to type.
EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES
Croydon’s Conservatives have selected Jason Perry, the South Croydon councillor and leader of the Town Hall opposition group, to be their candidate for election as the borough’s first directly-elected mayor next year.
After two rounds of voting, local Tory members suggest that Perry won by just three votes from another councillor, Andy Stranack. Perry won with the support of the votes of the vast majority of his 28 Town Hall councillor colleagues.
In choosing Perry, Croydon’s Tories have given themselves a mayoral candidate who played a leading role in getting Conservative councillors to vote through the 2019 and 2020 council budgets that bankrupted the council.
And having spent at least £10,000 of party campaign funds to support the campaign for a mayor to be elected by all residents in an open and transparent manner, the Conservatives yesterday reverted to type, conducting a secretive party meeting behind closed doors and refusing, officially, to reveal how many attended their meeting or how the voting between Perry and two candidates went.
All suggestions of “reform” were parked, as the Tories carried out their selection meeting on a slightly expanded version of the “strong leader” principle, with Town Hall leader Perry getting the backing of most of the party’s sitting councillors and the 2022 candidates who will hope to benefit directly when he gets to dole out appointments – and juicy council allowances – after the elections next May.
According to the self-proclaimed “Sage of Selsdon”, Anne Piles, in the end, Perry won by just three votes.
Given the Croydon-wide polling at last May’s London elections, and the lingering antipathy towards the Labour group who bankrupted the borough, Perry, despite serious questions about his suitability for the role, must now be the favourite to become the council’s first executive mayor.
Jason Perry: favourite to become Croydon’s first elected executive mayor
The Tories staged their selection meeting less than 72 hours after the outcome of the borough’s governance referendum, which voted to reject the discredited system that used the “strong leader” model, in favour of something that is #ABitLessShit.
Though, by the limited scope of their three white blokes shortlist – Perry, Councillor Andy Stranack and Ben Gadsby – and ultimate selection, Croydon Conservatives appear to have plumped for #ABitMoreShit.
The result was greeted with an audible, borough-wide sigh of disappointed indifference.
The obvious flaws in the shortlisting and eventual selection were quickly highlighted, by Croydon residents and political opponents.
“Plus ça change, plus c’est la meme chose,” was the offering from Labour councillor, and former Tory MP, Andrew Pelling, perhaps intended to peeve the unapologetic Brexiteers in the Conservative ranks.
Retired Sadvertiser journalist Diana Lyne appeared to tap the mood of the borough’s politics-watchers, even those more inclined to be conservative (small “c”), when she noted, “We need someone who is charismatic, vigorous, wise, financially savvy and honest to represent Croydon as its new mayor. Not one of the same dull old bunch of councillors.”
Bienosa Ebite, the former Croydon Radio politics presenter and PR specialist, from Thornton Heath, questioned the Tories’ decision. “Is this the type of dynamism that fellow residents want or need?
“It’s more of the same, and we desperately need a fresh approach.”
No change: the Labour for Mayor group, having gone into hiding from their own party, nailed the Tory selection
Jamie Audsley, the Labour councillor who has been blocked by his own party from standing for re-election to the council next May, wrote in similar vein, “The Croydon Conservatives have selected Cllr Jason Perry as their candidate for Mayor. Their website tells us he ‘has been a Croydon councillor since 1994’, which tells you a lot of what you need to know – part of our town’s past, not its future.”
In 27 years as a Croydon councillor, Perry has risen without trace, only in 2020 reaching the dizzy heights of Tory group leader.
His spell in charge has been badly hit by his needing to be hospitalised when he contracted covid earlier this year.
Perry runs a building supplies company in the borough, but has said nothing about his future role in the business if he is elected next May to the £80,000 position of executive mayor. Whether that’s because he sees himself continuing to perform his Town Hall duties as a part-timer may only emerge as his candidacy is questioned in the coming months.
Perry will, at least, have a three-month head start on whoever is selected to be his closest rival for the mayoralty as Croydon Labour, after wasting the past eight weeks and £20,000 on campaigning against the switch in governance systems (“Bad politics”, according to party grandee Lord Adonis), probably won’t select their candidate until the new year.
The Tories’ selection of such an uninspiring, uncharismatic candidate may increase the possibility of the election attracting a stronger candidate as an independent, someone from outside the Katharine Street bubble, untainted by the events of the past few years, and able to step aside from the Croydon Establishment and political duopoly which has caused so much damage to the borough.
Unusually, the Croydon Conservative Federation had failed to issue any formal statement regarding Perry’s selection by 2pm today.
While sources within the party assured that this was nothing to do with any immediate “buyers’ remorse” over their choice of candidate, it probably won’t inspire much faith in the Tories’ abilities to quickly respond to other, more significant events, as they occur if they do take office next year.
Read more: Perry stakes Town Hall leadership on Tory mayoral selection
Read more: Objections? What objections? Opposition? What opposition?
Read more: Croydon votes 4-to-1 in favour of having directly elected mayor
Read more: Tories welcome back far-right figures as 2022 candidates
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47,000 people voted for change on October the 7th. If the Labour party now vote for Hamida Ali to be their mayoral candidate as is widely expected, then that leaves us asking the question, “change, what change?”
Have the two main parties learned nothing, listened to nothing that the people of Croydon have been saying? The way is now surely open for someone (anyone) from the middle ground with energy and determination to make a difference in Croydon. Sadly I cannot see either of these two contenders filling this brief, one is pale and stale and the other one seems to be trying to rewriting history.
The referendum was for a different voting system, not a competent set of people to magic out of the air. As BBC News pointed out “An important difference is the council would be unable to remove the mayor during their term, as they can in the leader model. This is only possible through the mayor’s own resignation.”.
#MaybeABitMoreShit?
Which conveniently overlooks how neither Newman (Labour leader for 15 years) nor Fisher before him (despite being caught with his hand in the civic cookie jar) were ever removed from office. Indeed, all those councillors Newman had on the pay roll duly rolled up and voted with the party whip to show their “confidence” in his ability to run the council, barely a month before the S114 notice was issued.
So let’s be realistic about the differences under the two systems, shall we?
I didn’t vote for Strong Leader either. Lets hope the next dictator is benevolent.
My guess is that someone from outside the Katharine Street bubble, untainted by the events of the past few years, and able to step aside from the Croydon Establishment and political duopoly which has caused so much damage to the borough does not exist!
Independent they must be, outside the normal politics. How would people vote if somebody outside the Croydon area was nominated, perhaps one of those who thought their future was a The Mayor of London?
Current rules for councillor candidates is that they must live or own a business within the borough.
It’s assumed same rules will apply to mayoral candidates.
Echo Anita’s comments – do these local political parties learn nothing? Surely the door is wide open to independents to stand (with a leaning to the left or right) who can demonstrate integrity and “clean hands” who can mop up the votes – putting up existing councillors/group leaders just smacks of either completely misunderstanding why there was a vote to move to the mayor model or more likely completely ignoring the reasons and seeing as running for Mayor a way of gaining council control via the back door
I voted for a mayor but but there is now no point in voting at the mayoral election as there is no one I can support.
Could be worse, could be Lord Gav of Whitgift.
Not happy with Perry or Ali. two toilet seats.
agree with Gy Costello. WHAT a shower, don’t the ‘Tories’ ever learn…we need a dynamic and independent person that both Tory and Labour can respect and vote for , not folk who don’t even have the courtesy to answer emails.
Who the heck are they any way…they never ‘walk the streets and meet folk, we don’t want to go to an unknown pub and listen to some oik we have never met.
Come on Croydon…there must be SOMEONE who is incorruptible, personable, dynamic and so innovative that we all can fall at your feet and say..at last…someone to trust with all the problems that there are………….PLEASE not washed out old councillors…Oh gosh, WHAT a sad dilemma….. ,