Croydon’s system of executive mayoralty ought to make scrutiny more important, not less.
When substantial power is concentrated in the Mayor’s office, the distribution of committee roles carries more weight. It is one of the few visible ways of showing that oversight will not be confined to the established parties.
If the Conservatives and Labour have decided that the Green and Independent group of councillors at the Town Hall should hold no committee chair or vice-chair positions nor any role on the planning committee, the implication is that electoral change will be recognised in representation, but not in the allocation of institutional responsibility. That is unlikely to improve public confidence.
The electoral numbers do not support such an approach. After the 2026 local elections, Labour holds 30 seats, the Conservatives 28 and the Greens eight, with Liberal Democrats and Reform UK also represented.
The borough-wide vote shows how much dissatisfaction there is with the failing duopoly: Conservatives won 26.6%, down 11.9 points on 2022; Labour 26.3%, down 8.2 points; the Greens 23%, up 10.1 points; Reform UK 13.9%, up 13.9 points from no comparable 2022 presence; and the Liberal Democrats 9%, down 2.7 points.
This was not a result that justified the concentration of visible authority in the hands of the same two parties.
The new map of Croydon: but Paul Ainscough says that the old duopoly is blocking fair representation
It was a fragmented verdict that strengthened the case for broader scrutiny and a more proportionate distribution of influence within the council.
At the council, committee chairs and vice-chairs are important.
To deny such roles to a group, such as the Greens, that has made electoral gains is therefore not just a procedural choice. It is a statement about who is permitted to exercise authority. For voters who backed alternatives to the two largest parties, that distinction will not be lost.
That question is sharper on planning. The published planning committee membership now shows Labour and Conservative councillors on the committee, but no representative of the Green and Independent group.
In a borough where development decisions have shaped public trust in local government, that is not a technical detail. It is a choice about who is allowed to scrutinise one of the council’s most contentious functions.
The political inconsistency is hard to miss. Conservative voices in Croydon spent years attacking Labour’s planning record, criticising the repeated approval of Brick by Brick schemes, warning about building on green spaces and denouncing what they described as indiscriminate consent for overdevelopment.
In 2023, the Croydon South Tory MP Chris Philp argued that Labour had waved through poor applications that the post-2022 Conservative administration had then resisted. If that critique was serious, it is difficult to explain why Labour should still be treated as a reliable partner in the allocation of planning influence, while the Greens are excluded altogether.
Unrepresentative: how the Labour-Tory stitch-up shared out the committee seats – reducing the size of the planning committee to exclude the Greens
Croydon has reason to take this seriously. The borough is still dealing with the consequences of governance failures, financial collapse and a long erosion of trust in its institutions. In that context, scrutiny is not a secondary concern. It is part of the basic case for competent administration. A broader distribution of committee leadership would not solve the council’s deeper problems. It would, however, signal that the political system can learn from them.
If Croydon’s two largest parties want to show that they understand the electorate they now face, they should begin by adjusting to the implications of the result. An executive mayoralty demands strong scrutiny, institutional confidence and a willingness to share visible responsibility.
Refusing the Green and Independent group any chair or vice-chair positions or a voice on the planning committee suggest that the council’s electoral map has changed faster than its governing culture.
Until this happens the Green and Independent Group are the real opposition to the Conservative- Labour marriage of convenience.
Read more: Labour’s secret deal with Tories to block Greens on planning
- Councillor Paul Ainscough was elected in May 2026 to represent Fairfield ward
- Anyone can write a Croydon Commentary, a platform for our readers to offer their personal views and experiences about what matters to them in and around our corner of south London. To submit an article for consideration for publication, email us at inside.croydon@btinternet.com, or post your comment to an Inside Croydon article that has caught your attention
Recent Croydon Commentary columns:
- ‘I grew up believing there was a pathway to success: work hard, get a degree and build a career. The reality is very different’
- Perry didn’t ‘fix the finances’. He’s increased debt to £1.7bn
- This is where ‘Don’t rock the boat’ has become official mantra
- Uniformed guards are making our town centre more hostile
PAID ADS: To advertise your services or products to our 10,000 weekday visitors to the site, as featured on Google News Showcase, email us inside.croydon@btinternet.com for our unbeatable ad rates
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here
- Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network