A former Army bomb disposal expert who will be leading the Liberal Democrats’ election efforts in 2026 says Croydon’s residents are ‘fed up with paying more and getting less’
Howard was responding to yesterday’s announcement from the government that it had run out of patience with the bungling and borrowing of Tory Mayor Jason Perry and his chief exec Katherine Kerswell.
With the council’s finances “deteriorating rapidly”, Jim McMahon, the minister for local government, described Croydon as “one of the most financially distressed councils in the country”, and that he is “minded” to parachute in Commissioners to take over the running of Fisher’s Folly.
The appointment of Commissioners would leave Perry as a lame duck Mayor until local elections next May, and raises serious questions about the position of £204,000 per year CEO Kerswell.
Major Howard worked as an Army bomb disposal expert before retiring to Coulsdon and a civvie career in accountancy. The hair-trigger, fragile nature of the council’s finances might call for the deftest of handling in future.
“Croydon’s finances are out of control,” Howard said.
“This crisis didn’t appear overnight — it’s the result of years of political failure by both Labour and the Conservatives.”
Howard’s way: LibDems Claire Bonham and Richard Howard have used the council’s latest crisis to start campaigning
Following the 2020 council bankruptcy under the previous Labour administration, since 2022 the borough’s debt has worsened under Tory Mayor Perry, despite him hiking Council Tax by 27% in just two years, even as services are cut to the bone.
The council’s debt stands at £1.4billion. But under Perry’s finance plans, he wants to increase that debt to £2.2billion by 2027.
“Residents are paying the price for years of short-term decisions, vanity projects and finger-pointing between the two bigger parties,” said Howard, who in 2022 won 10% of the borough-wide vote in the Mayoral election.
“We need a serious, credible recovery plan for Croydon’s finances – not more political stunts from the government or empty words from the Mayor.
“Residents are fed up with paying more and getting less.”
Croydon has only elected one Liberal Democrat councillor in more than 20 years, Claire Bonham in Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood. According to Howard, “residents have seen the difference a hard-working, community-focused councillor can make”, describing Bonham as “a visible, active champion for her ward”.
And that’s despite Bonham claiming that she, and the council’s two Green councillors, have been frozen out of most Town Hall business by an authority that has been slow to update its own constitution to reflect the change to a mayoral system (they’ve had since 2021 to undertake the pen-pushing), with Mayor Perry and Labour unwilling to pursue the revisions necessary.
Howard said: “Croydon deserves better than the broken politics of the past. It’s time for something different – and the Liberal Democrats are ready to lead that change.”
Read more: McMahon acts after serious concerns on ‘aspects of leadership’
Read more: Mayor Perry: ‘Residents of Croydon have felt enough pain’
Read more: Borrowing plan would lead to council’s ‘collapse’ says report
Read more: Government sends in Commissioners to run Croydon Council
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