CROYDON COMMENTARY: After almost five years of incompetence and failure under a Tory Mayor, it is now possible for Croydon residents to abolish the role. ANDREW PELLING explains the changes, and the predicament for the borough’s political classes.
PLUS: Take part in our exclusive opinion poll on whether you want to get rid of the borough’s mayor
Not what was wanted: Jason Perry, for 28 years a local councillor, has not been the dynamic figure that residents in the south of the borough campaigned for
You may not have noticed – not many did – but in April, the government passed the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026.
Under this legislation, Labour made it impossible for other borough-level local authorities in England to create a directly elected mayor, as Croydon had done in 2021 with the referendum secured by the DEMOC campaign.
While Whitehall decided to try to save billions from local government spending by abolishing a swathe of district councils and merging them into single tier authorities – such as with East and West Surrey – the Devolution Act contained an important caveat. “Legacy Mayors”, as in Croydon and 12 other councils (including London boroughs Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, and Tower Hamlets) would remain.
The original arrangement that existed when Croydon opted for a directly elected mayor – when 80% of those who voted rejected the “strong leader” and cabinet model – was that nothing could be done to change this decision for 10 years.
But this year, as well as halting some of the county council and district council mergers, something else has changed. Now, even the areas with “legacy mayors” can bin that system. And that includes Croydon. Continue reading
On the north wall of Croydon Minster hangs the parish Roll of Honour from the Great War of 1914 to 1918, what we tend to refer to today as World War I.
CROYDON IN CRISIS: A ‘collapsed’ payments system has seen the council stiff hundreds of casual workers – highly trained translators and interpreters – for tens of thousands of pounds. And Mayor Perry knew nothing about it.
Mayor Jason Perry’s omnishambles council could find itself dragged through the small claims court by dozens of angry service providers because a faulty payments system has failed to make payments to around 200 freelance translators and interpreters for three months.
Croydon’s failed Mayor Jason Perry is sitting on £8million of residents’ money that his council ought to have returned.
There will also be a Remembrance ceremony outside the Town Hall at 11am on November 11, Armistice Day.
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With more customers turning to online shopping instead of heading to the high street, independent shops in Croydon are having to adapt. As a result, many businesses are creating online stores to capture audiences further afield.
