When Labour announced on Twitter that they had “balanced Croydon Council’s budget”, I did ask them if they were going to explain to people what a “Capitalisation Direction” is. Or why they need it. What it means for Croydon. And what effect it’s going to have on future budgets (clue: the capitalisation direction is for £70million in the first year).
Funnily enough, they have never replied.
We know the Labour Council has really messed up the Croydon finances. We also know that the Conservative government has slashed funding to local authorities and is now punishing Croydon residents by forcing through cuts instead of writing off the debts (like they did when they messed up their own government finances).
Sadly, what we are missing in Croydon is honesty from both Labour and the Conservatives about what’s really going on.
We know we are in a bad place and that means we may have to make difficult decisions about what Croydon Council can and can’t afford to do in future.
But those decisions should be made in transparent discussions with Croydon residents. And those discussions must start with being honest about the current situation and its causes.
As a candidate for Mayor, I’m not promising miracles, but I am promising to be honest with you and to make sure you are involved in transparent discussions so we are all clear on what Croydon Council is doing.
Read more: ‘One of the biggest casualties of council crisis is our trust’
Read more: Time to reverse the damaging cuts to London’s youth services
- Peter Underwood is the Green Party’s candidate in the election for an executive Mayor being held on May 5
Croydon Commentary is a platform for all our readers to offer their personal views about what matters to them in and around the borough. To submit an article for publication, just email us at inside.croydon@btinternet.com, or post your comment to an Inside Croydon article that has caught your attention
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
- Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, as well as BBC London News and ITV London
- Inside Croydon: 3.3million page views in 2021. Seen by 1.6million unique visitors in that 12-month period
