Nominations for candidates for the May 7 local elections close later today, and the final forms will include independents and single candidates from new parties looking to win a seat at the Town Hall.
WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor, looks at the case for two of them
The Equality Party has named Ellie Harrison as its sole council election candidate in Croydon, standing in Shirley North, while local community activist Graham Mitchell has decided to put himself forward on his home patch of Bensham Manor.
Community grafter: Graham Mitchell was interviewed recently by BBC London News
Mitchell may already be familiar to locals, for his unstinting work clearing up Norbury Brook and organising litter picks in Thornton Heath Rec (because if he and his team of volunteers didn’t do it, no one at the council or their rubbish contractors, Veolia, is going to do it).
Mitchell has even made a recent appearance on BBC London News, talking about the borough’s, and Bensham Manor’s, fly-tipping problem.
Bensham Manor is the ward next door to Thornton Heath. Mitchell says that his election pitch is not made up of promises, but is backed up by the hard work he has been doing for years.
“I am not coming forward at election time saying I am ‘ready to work hard’,” Mitchell told Inside Croydon. “I have already been working within the community and understand both the issues and the opportunities.”
Bensham Manor has long been one of Croydon Labour’s safest wards. It was where, until 2022, Alison Butler was a councillor. Butler was Labour’s deputy council leader alongside Tony Newman, who presided over the Regina Road scandal and, with her co-councillor husband Paul Scott, did so much to push the Brick by Brick agenda that bankrupted the borough.
Axed: Labour has blocked Cllr Enid Mollyneaux from satnding for re-election
Since Butler stood down, Bensham Manor has had three Labour councillors, veteran Humayun Kabir, as well as shadow cabinet member Enid Mollyneaux and Eunice O’Dame. Mollyneux and O’Dame, both black women, were deselected by Labour and not allowed to seek re-election in 2026.
In 2021, Labour axed another Bensham Manor councillor, Jamie Audsley, apparently for his unseemly support of having a directly-elected Mayor. And Labour wonders why it has struggled to get members to volunteer to deliver their election leaflets this year…
Mitchell stood as an independent in 2022, receiving just over 500 votes, finishing fifth of 13 candidates, including two of the three Tories standing in the ward, but about 1,000 short of what he needed to be elected.
Mitchell says that if elected this time round, he will commit to “visibility, accountability and delivering tangible improvements”.
“I believe local representation should start with people, not party politics,” Mitchell said.
“I have lived in the area for many years and have been actively involved in community work across Thornton Heath and Bensham Manor.
“Like many residents, I have become increasingly concerned about how Croydon has fared. Too often, the same problems are discussed, promised, and revisited — but not properly resolved. From street cleanliness and fly-tipping to wider concerns about community safety and the condition of local areas, residents are left feeling that their voices are not being properly heard or acted upon.
“Party politics can too easily get in the way of practical action. As an independent, I would be free to focus on what matters most to residents, to challenge decisions where necessary, and to support good ideas regardless of where they come from — without being constrained by party lines.”
It remains, nonetheless, tough to get elected as a one-person, one-ward independent campaign. And, once with a seat in the Town Hall, and as has been demonstrated by the borough’s single LibDem and pair of Green councillors over the last four years, just getting your voice heard in the Town Hall Chamber can be difficult.
Shirley candidate: Ellie Harrison is the Equality Party’s only Croydon candidate
Such prospects have not deterred Harrison on her one-person quest in the south of the borough.
The Equality Party – not to be confused with Sandi Toksvig’s Women’s Equality Party – started in January 2025 “with the aim to unite people from diverse backgrounds to fight for equal rights and opportunities”.
It has so far got two councillors elected in Cheshire and one in Scotland.
Harrison, according to her party press office, “grew up visiting Croydon regularly for shopping and leisure”. Which is nice. She has lived in the borough since 2017, and works for a global animal welfare charity where she is co-chair of its LGBTQIA+ network.
Shirley Library was one of four public libraries that have been closed in a bungled reorganisation conducted by Tory Mayor Jason Perry. Shirley North is currently represented by two Conservative councillors, but is a target for Nigel Farage’s Reform Ltd.
“Fearmongering, division, and hate are rife in national politics, and the need for the Equality Party has never been more pertinent,” Harrison said.
“I’m someone who will speak up for those who have no voice, or who are consistently unheard and ignored. I listen to what people have to say, what they want to change, and what matters to them.
“I’m excited to be representing the Equality Party and will bring my passion for advocacy and campaigning to deliver for the people of Croydon.”
Read more: Time running out to register to vote in Croydon local elections
Read more: Labour forces Davis to erase ‘genocide’ from her manifesto
Read more: Corbyn’s party has 1 candidate across Croydon’s 70 seats
Mayor Jason Perry has refused to give a pre-election interview to Inside Croydon, where he would face questions about his record in office- Paid-up subscribers to this website can listen to The Andrew Fisher Interview with Labour’s Rowenna Davis by clicking here
- Andrew Fisher has also interviewed Liberal Democrat candidate Richard Howard and his podcast with the Green Party’s Peter Underwood will be available soon
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2026, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for an EIGHTH time in nine years, in Private Eye magazine’s annual round-up of civic cock-ups
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8 candidates for Mayor.
Looks like reform have finally found a candidate that stuck around (and is living)
PPP is listed as standing for “Local Conservatives”. Is he trying to disassociate himself from the national party? It’s something they’ve done before.
Given this election is FPTP even Croydon should be able to manage the count fairly quickly.