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Public’s furious reaction to Perry’s Premium Council Tax hike

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CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Go climb in a skip. No one’s paying that’. Residents’ outrage at Council Tax hike sees demos and petitions planned

In the 24 hours since Inside Croydon broke the news of Croydon Mayor Jason Perry’s request to increase Council Tax by 15per cent from April, there has been widespread shock and anger, even fury, vented by residents from across the borough.

Not least from members of the residents’ associations in the south of the borough, who were among those who campaigned hard to bring in the mayoral system, and many of whom now feel betrayed by the part-time Mayor.

“He said he had a plan to fix the council’s finances when he was campaigning for our vote,” one Purley resident said today. “But he never told us that plan was to fleece the very residents who have already suffered all the cuts in services because of the way the council has been mismanaged.”

There was what amounted to a Croydon-sized Twitterstorm last night, particularly in response to Perry’s unapologetic statement.

“No, I’m not paying an extra £200 to a Tory-led council that does nothing for me,” wrote one resident.

Palpable anger: residents are clearly furious that the Mayor has asked for a 15% Council Tax hike

Another wrote, “I appreciate Mr Perry’s position as we pay for the questionably less-than-honest use of Council Tax of the previous Labour administration. They do the crime, the rest do the time?” They added the hashtag #unfair.

Another tweeter was a tad more blunt. “Go and climb on a skip. Nodbody’s paying that.”

It did not take long for social media comments to contrast the Tory government’s condemnation of above-inflation wage demands of our nurses, teachers, civil servants and firefighters, and their more relaxed approach to making the public pay for the mistakes of fellow politicians.

“Whilst the government limits pay rises to public workers to below inflation, Croydon residents are getting an above-inflation Council Tax hike!

“The public services we receive at the moment are piss poor,” they wrote, perhaps not realising that under Mayor Perry, those services are about to get even worse.

On the NextDoor social website, Croham Road resident Helen Ascott wrote, “Is anyone else furious about the 15per cent Council Tax increase? Unlike nearly every other council in the UK, [where it is] capped at 4.9per cent.

Piss poor: residents are beginning to notice that for top-end Council Tax they are getting bottom-end services

“You’re supposed to have a referendum to go any higher than that.

“We’ve already paid the price for the Labour council’s devastation of our borough, now we have to pay again.

“At a time when Croydon is on its knees, why would anyone want to live here, let along invest here?”

Back on Twitter, one Palace fan described it all as “A clusterfuck of a mess. And what are we getting out of the council? The absolute bare minimum.”

As well as calls for demos and petitions, there have also been the first suggestions of a Council Tax boycott – something which really could see the council grind to a halt if well-organised and handled carefully.

“What @JasonForCroydon fails to mention is Croydon Tories and how they played their part in it all. You have to look back further than a couple of years [at the] finances.

“This is the same Mayor who keeps spending money rather than saving it. Don’t pay the tax! Refuse!”

Disability campaigner Paula Peters expressed her concern, posting on Faustbook: “Absolutely horrendous. The residents paid twice for Negrini’s greed and council mismanagement of finances. Massive cuts to services. Residents won’t be able to afford this.”

Long-time iC reader Derek Thrower commented, “Looks like part-time Perry’s attempt to get Croydon’s debt written off by the government has failed. So he intends to write-off local Council Tax-payers’ incomes instead.

Political high ground: Labour’s Stuart King has not been on the right side of a debate for a very long time

“They can argue about who to blame for the dire straits the Council is in till the cows comes home, but such a huge hike in taxation at the behest of Gove in central government, who has not provided any material support, shows how toothless Part-time Perry is with influence, and the desperate state the country (let alone Croydon) after 13 years of Conservative misrule.”

The decision to push ahead with such a big rise in Council Tax is also looking like a major political gaffe, not just by Perry, but also by Gove. For the first time in a very long time, Labour in Croydon was given a foot-hold on the political high ground.

“Mayor Perry seems to want to punish hardworking residents rather than get a fair deal from his government,” said Stuart King, the leader of the Labour group at Croydon Town Hall.

The Green Party’s Peter Underwood said, “Conservative ministers dodge paying tax. Conservative councils put your tax up by 15per cent.”

And Claire Bonham, Croydon’s only Liberal Democrat councillor, said, “Croydon residents shouldn’t pay the price for the mistakes of others. Mayor Perry should try to get a better deal from his government, not punish our residents.”

Read more: Perry to preside over record-breaking 15% Council Tax hike
Read more: Council forced to issue 3rd bankruptcy notice in just two years
Read more: Croydon needs deal that could set precedent for all councils


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