Category Archives: Bensham Manor
Election candidate calls Croydon’s modern slums a scandal
Croydon Council’s mishandling of its housing stock – with a rising number of empty council homes despite more than 2,000 families forced to live in temporary accommodation – has been described as a “scandal” by one of the candidates for … Continue reading
Croydon more Green than purple, but will they win any seats?
The deadline for entering candidates for May 22’s local elections was 4pm today. We have reported the key selections from Labour and the Conservatives across the borough over the past year, but only now do we have the complete list … Continue reading
Council spends £200,000 on dropped kerbs in flood-risk area
Senior Conservative politicians have ordered Croydon Council staff to cold-call house-holders in a marginal ward to offer to build dropped kerbs with a hefty discount provided on the rates. At the same time that council staff and the emergency services … Continue reading
Newman struggling to keep team singing from same songsheet
WALTER CRONXITE, our man in the public gallery with a Yorkie bar in his pocket and a copy of the local free paper under his arm, analyses the real story behind yesterday’s headlines Divided parties rarely win elections. The tensions … Continue reading
Legal wrangles threaten to damage Labour campaign
Labour’s campaign to win back control of Croydon Council has encountered legal complications and a touch of scandal this week, with a challenge over selection being taken to a judge, threats of deselection of other candidates, and a party official … Continue reading
Hoardings and mud or affordable homes? It’s your choice
Croydon has more than 9,000 families on the waiting list for a home, yet the current council administration is refusing to insist that property developers – among them Conservative party donors – include the levels of social housing in their plans which even London … Continue reading
Lights go out again in Addiscombe but Skanska are in no rush
Residents in and around Addiscombe have been left in the dark again this week, less than two months after filing formal complaints to Croydon Council over the service – or lack of it – from contractors Skanska when several roads … Continue reading
Memories of Malcolm Wicks, MP who gave people a real voice
My Life, the autobiography of the late Croydon North MP, Malcolm Wicks, is published today. Exclusively here, ALISON BUTLER, who managed his constituency office for more than 20 years, writes of how his memory still brings a fond smile Although … Continue reading
Fair housing for all at the heart of Labour pledges
More affordable homes and a registration scheme for private landlords would feature under a Labour council in Croydon, as outlined here by Councillor ALISON BUTLER Housing will be at the very heart of policies for an incoming Labour council. Sadly, … Continue reading
Five into three won’t go in Thornton Heath selection race
Labour party members in Thornton Heath ward will get a lesson in basic arithmetic on Monday night: five into three won’t go. Thornton Heath is the latest ward Labour party to conduct its selection process for candidates for next May’s … Continue reading
Labour candidate makes virtue of lack of union support
One of the women short-listed for selection as candidate in the Croydon Central parliamentary seat by the local Labour party has sought to distance herself from the trades union movement – despite having been a senior union member in the … Continue reading
Gray day for “rising star”, as Smith loses selection battle
Paul Smith, the Labour councillor for West Thornton and member of the shadow cabinet, has not been selected to stand at next May’s Town Hall elections. He is the fourth serving Labour councillor in Croydon to miss out on selection … Continue reading
Croydon Central open primary: Alison Butler
As the deputy leader of the Labour group at Croydon Town Hall, Alison Butler is probably the most powerful woman in the borough’s politics (the Tories in control of the council have three men in the most senior positions in … Continue reading
Butler quick to declare candidacy for Labour nomination
Alison Butler, the deputy leader of the Labour group on Croydon Council, has given up her job at Westminster as she launches her campaign for selection as her party’s parliamentary election candidate to stand against Gavin Barwell in Croydon Central … Continue reading
Oi! Could the Town Hall do the Lambeth Walk under Labour?
Croydon’s Labour party looks like adopting a new approach to offer to the electorate ahead of the 2014 local elections. Labour wants to offer “a council run for the town, not the Town Hall”, according to the deputy leader of … Continue reading
What do Croydon women want? Open meeting, May 25
LEE WEBSTER issues an invite to all women living and working in Croydon to an important meeting later this month Women use public services more than men, according to the Fawcett Society, since they have maternity needs, are more likely … Continue reading
Infant death rates on the rise where incinerators operate
Inside Croydon‘s loyal reader has climbed the 47 storeys of Inside Croydon Towers to shove a copy of this week’s Sutton Guardian through our digital letterbox, with a pink Post-It note stuck on the outside, directing us to the letters … Continue reading
