With the London elections, and two Croydon ward by-elections, just weeks away, our latest episode of the Croydon Insider, our monthly news podcast, discusses what your vote counts for, how the voting system has changed for London Mayor, which parts of Croydon will voters be getting four ballot papers, and what you should be looking for in a good local councillor.

And back by popular demand is our topical news quiz, Have I Got Croydon News For You!, in which all the answers are exactly the same and the Croydon public always loses…

Our guests for this episode include two Croydon Insider newcomers, both devoted iC readers, Rev Ruth Chapman and Brian Finegan, plus regular pundit, Andrew Fisher.

Rev Ruth is the vicar of St Matthew’s in Park Hill, one of the wards which is staging a council by-election on May 2. Her church is serving as one of the polling stations, and the vicar explains the work that goes on behind the scenes so that the public can play their part in the democratic purpose.

And Finegan lives in Woodside, the other ward holding a by-election, and where he once served as a councillor more than 20 years ago. He explains what voters should expect from a good councillor.

After a quick rattle through the topical local news quiz, our panel also discusses other recent Inside Croydon news stories, including getting muddy in a good cause, community singing with the Croydon Bach Choir, the housing crisis and the problems with unaffordable shared ownership, and the situation in Gaza, Palestine and Israel.

All packed into a lively 30-minute discussion programme.

The Croydon Insider is an Under The Flyover podcast, provided as premium content exclusively to paying subscribers to Inside Croydon.

You can sign up today on our Patreon page by clicking here, and for less than the cost of a pint per month, you can help support independent, investigative journalism based at the heart of the borough.

Or you can download the podcasts, for a fee, from our Spotify page, which you will discover by clicking here, and which includes an extensive archive of recorded material – including celebrity interviews as well as previous Croydon Insider episodes.

More podcasting: Under The Flyover meets Green Party deputy leader Zack Polanski

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