EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES
Interim’s interim: Mike Jackson starts at Croydon on August 17
The propaganda department at cash-strapped Croydon Council waited until just before 6pm to sneak out the announcement of its latest interim chief exec.
What they failed to mention is that Mike Jackson, who is to be the bankrupt borough’s third head of service in the space of just 10 months, will be paid at a rate that works out close to
£360,000 per year
According to council reports, he will be paid up to £1,500 per day when he turns up at Croydon’s council offices for his first day in his new job on Monday, August 17.
Jackson is the interim hired to replace another interim, and another Jackson, Elaine, whose last day in post will be Friday August 14.
Exit: Elaine Jackson
Elaine Jackson took on the top job last October, when her boss, Katherine Kerswell, scarpered for the exit at Fisher’s Folly after five years of failure, helped on her way by a £50,000 payment in lieu of notice. Elaine Jackson had been due to retire last November, but was persuaded to stay on, originally until December 2026. A long-standing health issue prompted her to bring that departure date forward.
How long Mike Jackson sticks around for will depend on how soon Croydon manages to identify someone for the role permanently. Although the council has known since October that they would need to replace Kerswell, advertisements for the role – offering a salary of £275,000 – were not published until earlier this month.
Jackson is expected to be in post for around six months, according to the council’s statement tonight.
Until 2024, Mike Jackson was one of the country’s highest-paid civic servants, on £281,443 base salary when in charge of Wandsworth and Richmond councils jointly.
But that July, it was announced that after two years in the job he was leaving “for personal reasons”.
Jackson’s departure closely followed an enormous cock-up at the General Election, when as Returning Officer he was responsible for 6,558 “lost” votes in Putney. While it didn’t affect the constituency’s election outcome, it was hardly the sort of thing to instil confidence in his management and oversight.
He has not held a full-time role since.
Croydon Council has been effectively under special measures since its financial collapse in 2020, the only local authority ever to issue three Section 114 notices of effective bankruptcy. It has debts of £1.7billion, much of which has been accrued through emergency loans from the government since 2020.
In July 2025, the government took control of the council’s finances out of the hands of Kerswell and the failed Tory Mayor, Jason Perry, and installed a team of Commissioners.
Loadsamoney: Croydon’s debt has increased under failed Mayor Jason Perry
Inside Croydon understands that Jackson was recruited using the same expensive headhunters that are being used to identify the permanent CEO. He was one of four short-listed candidates, and was offered the job following a unanimous decision of the appointments committee held on July 21.
The minutes of that meeting said that “an expected day rate range for the post of interim chief executive is £1,200 to £1,500 (as set out in the council’s pay policy statement 2026-2027).”
And it adds: “The remuneration paid to the individual will generally fall within the above rates but can vary depending on labour market forces.” Meaning that the day rate might even be more.
According to Croydon’s dysfunctional council, “Mike most recently served as joint chief executive of Richmond and Wandsworth councils, overseeing services for more than half a million residents. Prior to that, he was chief executive of Bristol City Council, and he has held senior roles in the civil service.”
Our council said, perhaps more in hope that expectation, “The appointment will help provide stability, momentum and leadership.”
We’ll see.
Read more: £275,000: Loadsamoney Perry breaks the bank for new CEO
Read more: Do you recognise your council as described in the CEO job ad?
Read more: Commissioners: council lacks focus and robust delivery plans
Read more: Kerswell takes another pay-off as she quits as council’s CEO
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I am encouraged by this appointment.
After Mr Jackson resigned, the leaders of both Richmond and Wandsworth Councils “praised Mr Jackson for the work he has led as chief executive, including helping many residents struggling more than ever before with the cost-of-living crisis, overseeing major investment in infrastructure and delivering environmental projects.”
Let’s hope that he can work some magic at Croydon Council – and it may be that this will be made a permanent appointment!
He may also encourage some of the council’s departments to work in tandem with other South London local authorities. The London Boroughs of Merton, Richmond upon Thames and Wandsworth have formed a Regulatory Services Partnership so that they can pool their experience and share staff on matters like selective and additional licensing for the private rented sector. That has been a great success.
I hope that he also encourages the council to make the most of its new powers under the Levelling Up & Regeneration Act 2023 to conduct High Street Rental Auctions. They enable local authorities to require landlords to rent out commercial property on high streets and in town centres that have been persistently vacant – defined as vacant continuously for 12 months, or for 366 non-continuous days in the last 24 months. That might encourage landlords who have long term vacant properties to reduce their rents and find tenants. Croydon Council seems afraid of using these new powers even though they could assist in the regeneration of the town centre in Croydon.
One of the interview questions was “What attracts you to this £1500 a day position with a basket case local authority?”.
I’ll reserve my judgement on this one. Glowing references to the public on previous appointments have no merit in my eyes without actual evidence to support it. I’d really like to know how detailed Perry’s interview techniques really are, ie a pint down the pub “you’ve got the job mate”, or whether there’s any actual objectivity to the process.
Let’s see if there is a change for the better in Croydon – which there really should be at that price – or whether it’s another plan for Perry to carelessly add to the debt levels of Croydon with impunity.
The CEO who bankrupted the Council gets a pay off of £437000 only to be replaced by a failed CEO paid off with £50,000. Heather Cheesbrough the disastrous Director of Planning takes a career break after a decade of destroying the Borough and is replaced by a similarly failed Adam Wilkinson paid off half a million from his previous jobs (£365000 after one year) and left Croydon when Inside Croydon exposed him for not paying his taxes.
The Head of HR was paid off £90000 after shagging one of his staff in Sutton and came to Croydon.
And now an interim CEO who only managed 2 years in his last job?
Burnham wants to give Local Authorities control over more money. I hope he thinks carefully before handing more control over money to the incompetent leaders at our Council or before raising taxes when this is how they are being spent.
That’s an incredibly good rate that Mayor Perry’s team has been able to secure.
For a ceo of that experience, it would usually be considerably more. I used to be on £1200 per day in a 6 month role for a much more junior position.
But also it’s important not to forget that as an inside IR35 role, you have to pay considerably more as it includes bother employer’s NI, employee’s NI, and apprenticeship levy in the deductions before income tax. It also doesn’t include the very generous employers pension contribution that officers in local authorities have as a benefit. Additionally… you have no job to go to when the contract ends.
So the total cost of employment, at £1500 per day… that’s very good value for Croydon.