The 2026 Croydon Mayoral contest began in earnest today when Labour finally got round to naming their chosen candidate
EXCLUSIVE by WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor
The chosen one: Rowenna Davis polled 82% of Labour members’ votes
To the surprise of absolutely nobody – except perhaps Manju Shahul-Hameed – Rowenna Davis has today been named as Labour’s candidate to stand in the Croydon Mayor election next May.
The long-delayed selection process run by London Labour for party members in the borough to choose who from among their number would be their candidate in the 2026 elections experienced further delays this week. Online voting closed on Monday, but there was then a 48-hour further wait to allow postal votes to arrive.
The Labour regional organisers (we use the phrase in the loosest possible sense) seemed to have completely overlooked the potential for digital exclusion of those without smartphones, emails or connections to the interweb, and so had to retro-fit postal voting to their process at the last minute.
Eventually, just after lunchtime today, the puff of white smoke went up. In Labour’s now traditional manner when using the dodgy Anonyvoter system to count the votes, all voting numbers were withheld.
But Inside Croydon understands that Davis won 82% of the votes from a 46% turnout.
“We are happy to announce that the Labour candidate for Mayor of Croydon will be Rowenna Davis. Thank you to everyone who participated in the ballot,” an email from a nameless Labour apparatchik announced.
The fun and games could really begin tonight, when Davis is expected at a meeting of full council, positioned on the opposite side of the Town Hall Chamber from Conservative Mayor Jason Perry.
The last time there was a full council meeting, in February, Perry’s sidekick, Jason Cummings, lost his shit and shouted across the Chamber at Davis when she reminded him that he had voted for the budgets of discredited Labour council leader Tony Newman on three occasions.
In a statement issued by London Labour, Davis said today: “I am delighted to be standing as Labour’s candidate for Mayor of Croydon and so grateful to Labour Party members for their support.
“Croydon needs change. I love my home, but we’re being let down. Our borough is the ‘fly-tipping capital of England’, our streets and neighbourhoods feel neglected, and too many people feel unsafe, while our town centre is a depressing shadow of the delight it used to be. That changes with me – I’ll put people first.
“I’m proud to have won the trust of members with such a clear mandate for change, and now I want to earn the trust of the public.
“Together, we’ll make Croydon a place to be proud of.”
Davis has been a councillor for Waddon ward since 2022.
Her only opponent in the selection contest was Manju Shahul-Hameed, a councillor for Broad Green, and a part of the council cabinet that crashed the borough’s finances so spectacularly in 2020.
Although she has only been a councillor in Croydon for three years, Davis is an experienced political operator, having been a councillor in Southwark and 10 years ago, she was a (losing) parliamentary candidate in Southampton. She is the author of Tangled Up In Blue, described as “an examination of the rise of the Blue Labour movement”.
Late last year, Perry was duly given the option to seek a second term by the talent-free grouping that is Croydon’s Tories, and has been effectively campaigning ever since. The LibDems will be standing Rick Howard, their 2022 candidate, and the Greens have also opted for the same candidate as three years ago in Peter Underwood.
Croydon’s local elections, voting for 70 councillors across 28 wards as well as an executive Mayor, are due to be held on Thursday, May 7, 2026.
Read more: Labour blocks members from questioning mayoral candidates
Read more: #TheLabourFiles: MP Reed, Evans and the Croydon connection
Read more: You can depend on Croydon Labour: they always let you down
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