More squabbles among Croydon’s Labour councillors, but not over the cash-strapped council’s finances, library closures or the axing of other services to residents. The latest row was over who gets to wear the ridiculous robes and chain of the borough’s civic mayor – and the £27,591.96 allowance that goes with it. By our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE
Political genius: New Addington councillor Kola Agboola (left) out with Labour leader Stuart King doing what councillors are best suited for: delivering leaflets
Kola Agboola, elected as a councillor less than three years ago, looks likely to be installed next month as the borough’s ceremonial mayor, and pocket almost £28,000 in enhanced allowances as a result.
It’s Buggins’ turn at the Town Hall over who gets to ponce about wearing the ridiculous red robes and chain of office for the coming year and, after Tory Tony Pearson has spent the past 12 months all puffed up in a sense of his own self-importance, it’s Labour’s turn to nominate the next councillor to fulfil the vacuous and pointless role.
Since 2022, our cash-strapped council has been paying for the privilege of having two mayors: one that dresses up like a character off Trumpton and cuts ribbons at school fetes and not much else, and £82,000 per year for an executive mayor who doesn’t do very much, either.
After he has had to play second fiddle to pompous Pearson for the past year, there might have been some expectation that Appu Srinivasan, deputy civic mayor for 2023 to 2024, might have stepped up to role at next month’s mayor-making ceremony in the Town Hall Chamber. Certainly, that’s what Srinivasan will have been thinking.
But Croydon’s Labour group, comprising many of the councillors who helped to bankrupt the borough, are nothing if not thoroughly venal, and at their regular meeting last night they managed to have an internal squabble over who will get the borough’s robes of office.
The sub-text, as is often the case with Town Hall matters, was also who gets the extra £16,000 of tax-payer funded allowances that goes with the role, on top of the £11,691.96 basic allowance that all councillors receive.
Trumpton-esque twerp: Tony Pearson thought he was important
The honorary mayorship would usually go to a councillor who has been round the block a bit, done a few years’ service, but might not be quite good enough to earn a place in a cabinet or shadow cabinet – someone like Maddie Henson, for instance.
Yet last night there were three Labour councillors who put themselves forward to be Croydon’s civic mayor in 2024-2025, and Agboola, elected in a New Addington North ward by-election in 2021 (to replace the discredited former councillor, Simon Hall), has been on the council the longest.
The other candidates were Stella Nabukeera, who has been a councillor for South Norwood since 2022, and Norbury Park councillor Srinivasan, who has also been on the council less than two years.
The ceremonial mayor gets to chair the infrequent meetings of full council and they are supposed to be strictly politically impartial throughout their year in office.
Agboola is Labour’s only councillor across New Addington’s two wards, after the Conservatives made gains there in 2022.
According to sources at last night’s Labour group meeting, made the case that he should be nominated to become civic mayor because it would serve the party’s interests, and somehow enable him to raise Labour’s profile in New Addington in the coming year, as we head towards a General Election and the next council election in 2026.
When it came to a vote – conducted using the distrusted Anonyvoter system, natch – it appears that the majority of Croydon’s Labour councillors agreed with Agboola’s logic.
It is possible that Croydon’s Tories seek to block the Labour nomination for civic mayor at the full council meeting to be held at the Town Hall on May 22, but that seems unlikely. Which means that while the Conservatives will have three councillors in New Addington keeping busy with campaigning over the coming 12 months, while Agboola will have sidelined himself from the political fray.
Sheer genius.
But at least the union official will be pocketing £27,591 per year for the privilege of swanning around looking like a complete berk… And that, surely, is the main thing.
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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
I agree that it’s completely ridiculous for Croydon to have two Mayors. Perry is elected as Executive Mayor, so not much can be done about that (apart from voting him out next time). All that’s needed on top of that is a Speaker to chair Council meetings. That could be an unpaid post, done on a rota basis from meeting to meeting.
Glad to see that the grownups are back in charge and the trustworthy Anonyvoter issues have been sorted.
So now we know Labour’s priorities – who gets to wear the robes ffs.
That’s unfair, Chris. It’s who gets the moola
It is not appropriate that a specifically non-partisan civic Mayoralty funded by Croydon residents be used by the Labour party for their own party political advantage.
Labour’s compromised governance continues. Labour needs replacing as the progressive choice in Croydon.
The decision to dump the current Deputy Mayor Appu from succeeding to the role is an affront to Croydon’s large Tamil communities.
The council is skint. Loads of people have been made redundant. Libraries are being closed.
Labour could have showed leadership and been savvy here by calling for the ceremonial mayor post to be abolished or “frozen” indefinitely or made unpaid, and boycotted the role if the Tories didn’t go along with any of those options.
Instead they’re fighting for the right to look daft for money in a pointless PR role. Shows their priorities, principles and political nous. They make part-time piss-poor porky pies Perry look gifted