The government “was left with no choice” but to appoint Commissioners to take over the running of Croydon’s omnishambles council, a decision which reflects “serious failings on leadership and culture” at the Town Hall.
On message: Croydon Labour MPs Sarah Jones (left) and Natasha Irons yesterday both welcomed their government’s intervention at the council
Two of Croydon’s Labour MPs, Sarah Jones and Natasha Irons, reacted last night following the seemingly inevitable announcement by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government that Commissioners will oversee wide-ranging aspects of the council’s management, possibly for the next two years.
The Labour government’s announcement also just happens to leave Tory Jason Perry as a lame duck Mayor for the final nine months of his term up to the next local elections in May 2026.
Jones, the MP for Croydon West, said, “The decision to appoint Commissioners to Croydon Council was made because the Government was left with no choice.
“An independent oversight panel, appointed by the previous Conservative government, had found Croydon Council’s finances to be ‘deteriorating rapidly’.
“Time and time again, the Mayor has been completely unable to improve those finances, hiking Council Tax with little effect. This was despite a £136million grant from the Labour government earlier this year which the Mayor failed to use to improve the council’s financial position.”
Jones’s words in describing the latest government bail-out may be a little misleading: the £136million was not some kind of interest-free “grant” (if only!), but the latest capitalisation direction, in effect another loan to add to the borough’s pile of toxic debt.
Jones continued: “The people of Croydon deserve better. Commissioners will work to get Croydon Council into a more sustainable financial position and help to ensure residents receive the high-quality services they need and deserve.
In black and white: the statement issued last night from MP Irons’ office
“I would encourage Croydon Council to make the most of the Commissioners’ extensive expertise and knowledge and work with them to secure the best outcomes for our borough.”
Croydon has debts of £1.4billion, with almost all involved in agreement that the council’s position is “unsustainable” without some kind of rescheduling or write-off of the debt.
The Commissioners named yesterday include Ged Curran, a former chief executive of neighbouring borough Merton, where until her election to Parliament last year, Natasha Irons had been a councillor and cabinet member.
Now MP for Croydon East, Irons described the appointment of Commissioners as “a last resort”. And she said that despite February’s £136million exceptional financial support in February, “the council’s financial position has continued to deteriorate”.
Irons said that the appointment of Commissioners “is a deeply disappointing development”, adding, “But I believe it is now a necessary one.
“The issues facing Croydon Council are not just financial, they also reflect serious failings in leadership and culture.
“The Commissioners will provide the oversight and expertise we need to get a grip on Croydon’s position and protect the public purse,” Irons said. Was she suggesting that Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s £204,000 per year CEO, and what’s left of her senior management team lack the “expertise we need to get a grip on Croydon’s position”?
And Irons’ statement for her constituents included a not-very-veiled message for Croydon’s Mayor: “While some continue to insist that the council is well-run, today’s intervention lays bare just how disconnected that view is from reality.
“Now is the time to focus on rebuilding trust, restoring good governance and delivering the high-quality services that the people of Croydon deserve,” Irons said.
Steve Reed OBE, the MP for Streatham (and Croydon North if he can be arsed), does not appear to have made any remarks on his government’s takeover of the council that oversees part of his constituency. Perhaps, given his closeness to former council leader Tony Newman and other Labour councillors who brought about the council’s financial collapse in 2020, Reed feels any comments he makes might risk being misinterpreted.
Unofficial statement: what Tory Mayor Jason Perry might have, or should have, said
Or perhaps it is because Reed used to work alongside lead Commissioner Curran when they were both at Lambeth Council that the MP has avoided making public remarks over the appointment.
Chris Philp, Croydon’s only Conservative MP, for Croydon South, was strangely quiet on the topic yesterday – although a month ago he did initially support his pal Perry when the Mayor had a hissy fit over the prospect of being usurped by Commissioners. Perhaps Philp was just too busy chasing down food delivery riders or visiting tented villages in central London?
Whatever Reed and Philp’s reasons, the MPs – and their well-resourced staff’s – apparent disinterest in what’s going on under their noses in the borough they are supposed to represent may say much about their political careerism.
Rowenna Davis, the Labour councillor who hopes to replace Perry as Croydon Mayor next year, pledged to work “constructively” with the Commissioners.
She released a video statement on social media last night in which emphasised how under Mayor Perry, “Our Council Tax has gone up” and “The debt has gone up…
“And our services – our libraries, our council youth workers and our lollipop officers – have been cut.
“I for one will work constructively with anyone who can help Croydon Council get back on its feet so it can do the job we pay it to do – serving Croydon’s residents.”
Read more: Minister McMahon orders in Commissioners to run council
Read more: Mayor coming under pressure to sack council CEO Kerswell
Read more: From tantrum to grovel, Perry shifts posture for Commissioners
Read more: Agency spend scandal: Perry blasted for ‘ridiculous shambles’
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Well we know why Philp has gone quiet don’t we. The national calamity of the Afghan refugee cover up will see him hoping the media storm has died down after the weekend to allow him to reappear like something a Croydon Fox leaves for us in the morning.
Laughable about the rapidly deteriorating financial circumstances leaving no choice.
If there was a competent Central Government in place from 2018 it would have noticed the huge debt Croydon Council was taking out for property speculation without any contingency plan if it went wrong. That was the rapidly deteriorating condition that led to Croydon’s bankruptcy.
Philp is a sharp political operator (despite the appearance to the contrary) and knows when to dump a loser
But not sharp enough for Kemi to let him stand in for her at PMQs.
Good analysis but I wonder how many council meetings you’ve been to? I’ve been to countless and most fit your excellent description
I viewed the council meeting from the public gallery this Wednesday and found it a dismal affair. It was difficult for us in the public gallery to hear all the councillors speak, but when I could hear I found most of them were reading from long statements, and some of them mumbled.
It gave me an overall impression of inertia and lack of understanding of their portfolios.
It appeared that many senior councillors have no idea what’s going on in the departments they’re responsible for and even less interest.
If it is the officers who are running the council, unchecked, maybe they should be required to answer questions and not the councillors.
I left partway through the meeting in order to stop myself venting my frustration more publicly.
What a spot-on piece of reporting.
It’s possible the Commissioners might prove to be more efficient than the Tory and Labour administrations that have run Croydon Council in recent years (they could hardly be less so).
But it’s not feasible for Croydon’s financial problems to be fundamentally eased without a major write-off of debt. Rescheduling of debt would just prolong the agony.
Government should be willing to entertain debt write-off. It’s the only long-term answer and both major parties in government have contributed to the financial mess, by their austerity policies and cuts in funding to councils.
The current Labour Government is kicking the ball down the road by appointing commissioners.
It seems that long suffering Croydon residents will face a further period of service cuts and sell-off of assets with no end in sight.
Perhaps if the previous government had gone down the commissioner route much earlier a grip could have been gripped much earlier?
The Commissioners have more extensive powers than the improvement panel and can actually take decisions.
Given the extent of the debt (£1.4 billion) I doubt it. We also have to consider the downside of having commissioners. Birmingham has had them for nearly 2 years. They’ve made some very unpopular cuts, eg all cultural funding stopped, adult day centres closed and 25% cut from children’s services.
I agree with David. Good intentions and no money are not the way forward.
The Government Commissioners have been in Croydon for a while now, but there is still no sign of Piss-Poor Perry or the Kerswell being fired yet. Perhaps they should follow the plans of the bidders for Thames Water (a bigger beast than a mere, single London council), who are planning to fire a lot of the Thames Water bosses…?!