By our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE
On the retreat: Chris Philp has started describing himself as ‘an active local MP’
Inside Croydon’s long-dormant mole inside Croydon Tories’ headquarters in Purley (it’s been an especially long winter, even for small furry creatures that don’t usually hibernate) reports having been rudely awoken by the sound of property investment multi-millionaire Chris Philp running around the house shouting, “Don’t panic! Don’t panic!”
Our mole reckons that the sudden flurry of activity, mainly Philp stamping his feet like a spoilt four-year-old, occurred shortly after yesterday’s edition of the Evening Boris dropped on the doormat, with headline polling figures predicting a near-complete wipeout of Conservative MPs in London – including in previously true-blue Croydon South.
Thing is, this is the second piece of polling data in short order that has predicted a “near-death experience” for Conservatives in the capital.
Or as the newspaper report put it, “The YouGov survey showed the Conservatives haemorrhaging more than a dozen seats to Labour and the Liberal Democrats”, if the long-needed General Election was held today.
According to the newspaper report, “The Tories face losing all their London seats apart from five in a general election disaster for Rishi Sunak.”
Even London minister Greg Hands would lose his Chelsea and Fulham seat, one of the last redoubts of Conservativism in central London.
In outer London, the Tories would hang on to five seats, including Ted Heath’s old manor of Old Bexley and Sidcup, as well as Sutton and Cheam, where Paul Scully is stepping down as MP at the election, but the local LibDems continue to squabble over who should be their candidate to challenge his Tory successor.
This would still be a historic low for the Conservatives.
Painting the town red: how YouGov is predicting a Tory wipeout in London, including Croydon, at the next election
The Tories have always held Croydon South since the current constituency was first contested 50 years ago.
YouGov’s figures yesterday are marginally better for the Tories, with 155 seats facing a massive Starmer-led Labour majority in the House of Commons. But those Conservative MPs would not include Philp.
YouGov’s figures show Tories and Labour locked on 36% of the vote each in Croydon South, with the presumption that that could be enough come polling day for Labour’s Ben Taylor to actually win an election for once…
Philp has been the MP for Croydon South since 2015, during which time he has not held regular constituency surgeries (residents have to “book” an appointment), while he has fronted local campaigns against social housing in the Purley “Skyscraper” but in favour of a high-cost elderly housing scheme in the even bigger Purley Old Folks’ Home.
All the while, Philp has been pursuing his career at Westminster as an ever-willing media punchbag on behalf of criminals such as Boris Johnson and idiots like Liz Truss.
Philp was Chief Secretary to the Treasury when Kamikwasi Kwarteng crashed the economy with his Trussonomics Budget in 2022. Since then, anyone with a mortgage in Philp’s constituency will have seen their monthly payments almost double, while also contending with resulting 11% Cost of Living Crisis inflation.
Philp’s majority at the General Election in 2019 was 12,000, but that was when he enjoyed 52% of the vote as he backed Boris to “Get Brexit done”. Before the referendum, Philp had opposed the UK leaving the EU, but changed his position, conveniently, when ministerial jobs were at stake. Five years later, and the public have realised that they’ve been had.
Re-drawing the map: YouGov’s predictions are a stark warning to the Conservatives
In his latest email to constituents, Philp has taken to describing himself as “An active local MP”, which most would regard as a bit of a stretch, and claiming that he is “Working hard for Croydon South”.
Yesterday’s YouGov survey shows that the LibDems, as part of a parliamentary comeback that would see them have 49 seats, would pick up Wimbledon, as well as regaining Carshalton and Wallington.
The disclosure that former Conservative MP and Labour councillor, Andrew Pelling, is to run for that party in Croydon East does not appear to have much impact: the LibDems are slated to finish only fifth there, according to YouGov.
Croydon East, Croydon West and Streatham and Croydon North are all expected to return Labour MPs. Croydon South would complete the set, and force Philp to return to his career as a multi-millionaire property developer.
Read more: Philp retains Pluto business interests after Treasury promotion
Read more: MP Philp’s latest business venture folds due to lack of funds
Read more: Scotland Yard’s cyber crime unit investigating Croydon Labour
Read more:#TheLabourFiles: MP Reed, Evans and the Croydon connection
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
Chris Philp losing his seat sounds plausible. I live in Park Hill (near East Croydon), now in the rock-solid Tory ward of Park Hill & Whitgift, but we were formerly in the Fairfield ward and Croydon Central parliamentary constituency. The latest boundary changes have pushed us into the Croydon South constituency. The Fairfield ward still exists and now has two Green councillors. Perhaps the boundary changes have pushed more non-Tory voters into Croydon South, the hapless Philp’s patch ?!
I am reminded of John Crace , sketch writer for the Guardian saying of Chris Philp- ” a nose in search of a bum “
“Perhaps the boundary changes have pushed more non-Tory voters into Croydon South, the hapless Philp’s patch ?!”
In the words of Hong Kong Phooey : “Could be…?”
I find it incredible that any resident in the borough of Croydon, having seen the mess that Labour councillors made of Croydon’s finances, can think it appropriate to elect Labour MPs to represent the borough!
Given the abysmal mess made of our country by Conservative MP`s , we can all agree it is completely inappropriate to ever elect Conservative MP`s.
Please educate me: What do you mean by “abysmal mess”?
I assumed this was sarcasm , then realised you might even be serious.
Delboy. Give this a read:
https://insidecroydon.com/2024/03/27/before-you-next-vote-you-must-read-this-from-the-new-yorker/
Better still, get someone to read it to you and explain to you the bits you don’t understand
Are you talking to me Inside? I thought you told me that this was never going to happen and the Red Sea would have to part for Philp to be ejected out of the Tory land of milk and honey. Unfortunately Labour is in such poor shape in Croydon that they are going to miss this open goal in my view. Unless the Tories can make things even worse, which is a possibility.
Imitation is a form of flattery. And Delboy Nicholls appears to have been living in a cave, cut off from all civilisation, since 1982…
I suppose that irritation is, as you say, a form of flattery and I know that its reserved for the publishers of Really Annoying Blogs (which Inside Croydon isn’t) and torch bearing local IT replacements for defunct or morbid local papers (which it is). Actually I wouldn’t be surprised if Philp does survive. He is our local form of George Galloway, always popping up again, but in his case he is our local King of Sycophants and Empty Speech,but without GG’s ghastly charisma, effrontery, demagogic eloquence and sheer world beating shittiness and chutzpah.
Sorry to take so long. I was trying to find any benefits that Conservatives have given us in 14 years – and just could not find any , not even one !
I could easily find numerous Policy Areas which have been made much worse by Conservatives. So many it would take an age to list them all.
Enjoy the coming GE.
Derek, Ben is a fine person ready to serve all Croydon South residents – maybe you should have a conversation with him before you make your mind up, let me know. Labour has changed nationally and locally and the idea of a Labour MP whilst at least for now there is a Conservative Council has some merit in ensuring the right kinds of checks and balances
Actually, Derek makes a very fair point.
Labour “changed”? You’re having a laugh…
I wrote to Ben, the Croydon South Labour candidate. He didn’t even bother to reply. If they’re that useless when they want your vote you can expect a far worse service from Labour when they get in.
We have tried to warn our readers that Ben Taylor has delivered for his party the worst result ever in local elections…
Hi Chris,
What’s your email address? I can’t find an email from a Chris in my inbox. Apologies if I’ve mixed it.
I don’t think it is fair to say that Labour has changed locally. Remember that the Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, ignored the majority of respondents who rejected his plan to expand ULEZ to cover the whole of Greater London recently and went ahead with its implementation to the financial disadvantage of many residents. Ignoring the consultation result was an insult to democracy. I don’t recall Keir Starmer putting severe pressure of Khan to refrain from the expansion.
You neglect to mention it was the failure “Liar Johnson ” who introduced ULEZ , whilst he was Mayor. You also neglect to mention it was Grant Shapps who insisted that Mayor Khan extend the ULEZ area in order to gain much needed funds for TFL , due to woeful Covid policies by this Conservative Government.
Appropriated by IC. But appropriate all the same
Given the atrocious performance of Conservative MP`s , which party do you suggest
Deadwood, might apply to ‘The Human Bollard’
I lived through the Winter of Discontent, so I think I know what a f***up our MPs and unions made of the country. But no politician today seems to have any sense of humility or honour – I don’t think that was the case in those bad old days. Are we all f***ed? Will anyone apologise for anything?
You are obviously so old that your memory is failing. Conservatives were once again responsible for all the woes you allude to.
The “Winter of Discontent” was 1978-79, Ian, under Callaghan’s disastrous Government.
You don’t need to be “old” to know historical facts.
You so easily forget the Barber Boom which caused all of these problems ! How weak is your memory ? Or are you selective ?
The practice of politicians to blame all their mis-steps on their predecessors is a loathsome trait, and not what’s expected of iC readers. You must be soooo very old to remember Anthony Barber. But he and Heath were out of office five years before the Winter of Discontent, where most of the issues were self-inflicted by Labour
Around 2000, The Times’ Religion Correspondent Ruth Gledhill penned a satirical Opinion piece, that the Church of England didn’t need to appoint any Women Clergy because enough of the existing male clergy had sufficiently feminine behaviours anyway.
Since many of the current “Conservative-In-Name-Only” Party’s Ministers and MPs resist genuine Conservative policies (especially those that won them the “Red Wall” 80-seat majority) and would have been at home in either Blair’s “New Labour” Party or the LibDems, wavering voters might apply the same logic in the next General Election and vote for them anyway too, given the Brick-By-Brick and other debt-spiralling antics of the last Labour Croydon Council.
Anyone genuinely Conservative in the last few decades of the Tory Party suffers a similar fate to John Redwood – given a fish-out-of-water job as Welsh Minister, then banished to the backbenches since 1995 after daring to stand against John Major for leadership (Sun headline of the day:- “Redwood or Deadwood”). Maybe Truss would have survived if he had been her decades-of-experience Chancellor?
I think there may be other factors why Redwood’s career has stalled. Like people have met him.
Have you met him? I have and he seemed a pleasant bloke. As for his career stalling – he’s 72 ffs.
Indeed he is. So old he was in a Conservative government ideologically and dogmatically obsessed with ever closer European cooperation and joining the Euro even if it meant Black Wednesday.
Now he is in a government ideologically and dogmatically obsessed with ever further European separation that has not just left the EU but wants to leave the ECHR because that’s not far enough away. It never will be.
Perhaps the reason he’s not a Minister is it would highlight the Tories 180 degree U-turn in 30 years.
They have one political obsession after another that they will sacrifice everything, everyone and all common sense to achieve… Even now with six months to go to an election they’re doubling down on their unpopular nonsensical nonsense…
The Continent is always 23 miles away no matter what the politicians think about that.
Can’t hear must be voted out
You’re right that he was in a government that sought closer ties with the ‘Continent’, as elderly people know it. But he’s a veteran Eurosceptic, according to authoritative sources. My suspicion is that you want him out because he’s a Tory and I’m pretty sure you’re not!! As for 180s – the Human Bollard has perfected tge art. Happy Easter.
Nowadays its called the Elon Musk factor.
Ben Taylor replied to a tweet of mine trying to tell me that Croydon council wasn’t actually bankrupt just after the first S114 notice went in… talk about untrustworthy
Dear Normally Vigilant Editor,
You’ve made one of your very rare subbing mistakes.
You say: “Don’t panic. Philp may lose his seat.”
I am sure you actually meant to say “Do panic. Philp may keep his seat.”
Am I right?
Wag!
For the first time in my life, I am considering voting Labour. Not because I have the slightest bit of love for them and given what they have done to Croydon, hold them in nothing other than utter contempt on multiple levels but what difference does it make? The Uniparty of British Governance is a reality that needs to smashed. Zero seats for the Tories has to be the start of that.
I had a large A3 missive from Mr Philip the other week. Can’t tell you what it said as it seems to have binned itself of its own volition.
His name is Philp