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Category Archives: Alison Butler
Labour councillors set to support discredited leader system
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Some of the borough’s politicians have again placed their own self-interests ahead of the public and come up with another dodgy decision, writes WALTER CRONXITE, political editor Not content with having crashed the council’s finances, the Labour … Continue reading
Posted in 2021 Mayor Referendum, Alison Butler, Andrew Fisher, Andrew Pelling, Croydon South, Jamie Audsley, Paul Scott, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Central, Croydon North, Croydon South, DEMOC, Democratically Elected Mayor for Croydon, Jamie Audsley, Labour, Paul Scott, Sarah Jones MP, Sean Fitzsimons, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman, Tory
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Disabled resident’s harrowing plea: ‘I don’t want to be in here’
After a decade of complaints and media exposés, living conditions endured in council temporary accommodation in Thornton Heath remain a scandal. By STEVEN DOWNES Gilroy Court, the budget hotel in Thornton Heath which Croydon and other councils use for temporary … Continue reading
‘Deeply shocking’ report shows council’s ‘serious failure’
The pressure increased on Hamida Ali, the leader of Croydon Council, as the Town Hall’s pay-masters, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, issued a statement today in response to the notice issued by the Social Housing Regulator which … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Alison Knight, Chris Philp MP, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Sarah Hayward, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman
Tagged Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Croydon South, Labour, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Regina Road, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, Sarah Jones MP, Social Housing Regulator, South Norwood, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman, Tory
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It’s official: Regulator declares council to be a slum landlord
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The Social Housing Regulator has this morning issued its formal notice in which it states that South Norwood council tenants’ ‘homes were uninhabitable and apparently unsafe, and the evidence demonstrates that other tenants may also have been … Continue reading
Brick by Brick to get second £10m loan to avoid going bust
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council Tax-payers haven’t finished coughing up for the borough’s failed housing developers. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The cashflow crisis continues at Brick by Brick, as its sales of new-built homes has failed to cover its operating costs. … Continue reading
New councillor Bonello quick to meet with discredited Newman
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The former leader of the council appears to continue his interest, and possibly influence, over Labour councillors. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES. Photo: DANNIE LIEBOVITZ Less than 72 hours after being elected as a ward councillor for Woodside … Continue reading
Regina Road residents look at legal action for compensation
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Pressure is mounting on the council’s leadership for a firm response to the highly critical housing report published yesterday. By STEVEN DOWNES There have been renewed calls for the resignation of Hamida Ali as leader of Croydon … Continue reading
Only 10% of council housing repair jobs ever get checked
The new cabinet member for finance says he is ‘worried’ by dodgy data provided to justify a four-year extension to the multi-million-pound deal with the council’s repairs contractor. By STEVEN DOWNES The contractor at the centre of the national scandal … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Callton Young, Croydon Council, Housing, South Norwood
Tagged Alison Butler, Callton Young, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, Regina Road, Shirley, South Norwood, Waddon
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Podcast: ‘My living nightmare in temporary accommodation’
Last week, we published the account by SHANTAL MOSES (left) of her lockdown year spent with her young son in inadequate and dangerous accommodation provided by Croydon Council. This is Croydon’s real housing crisis, another aspect of the appalling conditions … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Croydon Council, Housing, Under The Flyover
Tagged Gilroy Court, ITV News, Shantal Moses, Thornton Heath
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Ali refuses to support Newman and Hall for public office
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Splits in the local Labour Party are deepening as recriminations mount over Tony Newman’s 15 years of misrule. By STEVEN DOWNES Hamida Ali, the one-time political protégé of discredited council leader Tony Newman, yesterday refused to offer her … Continue reading
Budget is approved but Labour council haunted by its past
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Back-to-back meetings yesterday pushed through the paperwork to balance the books and increase Council Tax. But Hamida Ali’s administration cannot shake off its part in the borough’s financial calamity. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor With the £120million … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Andrew Stranack, Brick by Brick, Chris Buss, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Ian Parker, Jason Cummings, Jeet Bains, Lynne Hale, Maddie Henson, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Sean Fitzsimons, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Stuart King, Tony Newman, Vidhi Mohan
Tagged Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jason Cummings, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Rapid Review, S114, Section 114, Simon Hall, STUART KING, Tony Newman, Tory
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Newman presided over ‘shocking bullying’, claims councillor
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Questions have been raised over Labour’s decision not to suspend the former deputy leader of the council, while Town Hall chiefs prepare for a flurry of disciplinary meetings next week Yesterday’s “administrative suspension” of councillors Tony Newman … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Tony Newman, Tory
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Reprieved! Buss recommends scrapping dozens of build plans
Among the recommendations contained in the report on the future of Brick by Brick going before next Tuesday’s scrutiny committee is a list of sites which are no longer to be developed by the loss-making council-owned builder. The biggest site … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, College Green, Croydon Council, Paul Scott, Planning, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Coulsdon, Croydon, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, New Addington, Paul Scott, Sarah Jones MP, Tony Newman, Waddon
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If incompetent directors can be banned, why not councillors?
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Outsourcing giants Carillion went bust three years ago, and now the directors responsible face possible bans from the nation’s boardrooms. Likewise, incompetent councillors should also be barred from public office, says TERRY McCARTHY The news this week that … Continue reading
Labour councillor asks colleagues: ‘Is it time for me to go?’
WALTER CRONXITE, our political editor, on a local politician who, some might suggest, doth protest too much A Labour councillor in Croydon has asked party members in the ward he represents whether he should carry on as their elected representative … Continue reading
£30m Fairfield Halls project never went to competitive tender
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Brick by Brick’s management of the refurbishment of the Halls has been subject to disputes with at least two leading contractors £3m grant to build an art gallery was diverted to pay for other work – … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mott MacDonald, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Vinci Construction UK Ltd
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£29m deal on flats buys Brick by Brick some breathing space
Yet more public money is being used to bail-out the council’s failed house-building company, as it flogs off 85 flats intended for shared ownership. Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, reports In the latest admission of the abject failure of Brick … Continue reading
The Audit Report: Newman’s £100m gamble with your money
CROYDON IN CRISIS: There’s growing public demand for some degree of accountability over the council’s financial collapse, and there’s mounting evidence that the former leader of the council and his mates broke rules to push through his pet policies. By … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Paul Scott, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
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Now Scott tries to play the blame game over Brick by Brick
Our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, on how the chief architect of the council’s disastrous housing policy is trying to salvage his reputation Paul Scott, part of the clique which led Croydon Council to bankruptcy, broke cover at a virtual Town … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Housing, Jo Negrini, Lisa Taylor, Martyn Evans, Paul Scott, Planning, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, S114, Section 114, Tony Newman
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Lacey to be removed from board of mismanaged Brick by Brick
Consultants’ report is latest damning review of Croydon’s badly-run council. By STEVEN DOWNES Colm Lacey is to be removed from the board of Brick by Brick, the council’s loss-making house-builder, while funding for new schemes is to be frozen and … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Martyn Evans, Planning, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Martyn Evans, PwC, PwC Report, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
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Support for Corbyn to be debated at party meeting this week
Members of Croydon Central Constituency Labour Party – where use of the word “Blairite” was once banned – will this week debate a motion of no confidence in their party leader, Sir Keir Starmer, and David Evans, the party’s general … Continue reading
Grassroots Labour Party members in calls to sack David Evans
WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, on the backlash against Sir Keir Starmer and his general secretary’s treatment of Jeremy Corbyn David Evans, the “power behind the throne” of Croydon Labour, is now under attack from local parties across the country for … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Croydon South, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114 notice, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Croydon, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon North, David Evans, Jeremy Corbyn, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, S114, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114, Sir Keir Starmer, Steve Reed OBE, The Campaign Company, Tony Newman
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Officials to investigate possible wrong-doing at council
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Selflessness. Integrity. Objectivity. Accountability. Openness. Honesty. Truthfulness. Leadership. The Nolan Principles in public office are at last to be used as a test of the council’s leaders. By STEVEN DOWNES An investigation into whether disciplinary action should … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Local Government Association, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, S114, Section 114, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
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Newman should be chucked out of Labour, say activists
‘It’s time to clean things up. It’s time for the truth to be told,’ according to one Labour councillor. WALTER CRONXITE, our political editor, on the growing calls for the council’s discredited former leaders to stand down immediately Tony Newman, … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Chris Philp MP, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Croydon South, Hamida Ali, Jamie Audsley, Paul Scott, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Chris Philp MP, Croydon, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Croydon South, Hamida Ali, Jason Perry, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman
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