Category Archives: Council Tax
It’s a Brum do: fixing local government won’t come cheap
After the latest local authority’s finances crashed and burned, and with Michael Gove twiddling his thumbs doing nothing before the General Election, ANDREW FISHER, pictured right, looks at what needs to be done to fix local government in England Councils … Continue reading
Council’s debt costs could hit £70m next year warns Mayor
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Jason Perry says he’s still hoping to get a Government write-off of a chunk of the borough’s borrowing, but otherwise he’s short on ideas or solutions. KEN LEE endured the latest ‘Question Time’ at Norbury, so that … Continue reading
Didn’t I do well?! Kerswell gives herself a pat on the back
CROYDON IN CRISIS: It is three years to the week since the emergency committee meeting, attended by Jason Perry, that decided in secret to give £437,000 to Jo Negrini to leave her job as council CEO. Today, Negreedy’s replacement, Katherine … Continue reading
Crisis for Selsdon charity hard hit by council’s double-whammy
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor Perry’s cuts are beginning to bite in his Tory heartlands, with the long-established Selsdon Centre for the Retired facing the prospect of closure next year. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES A respected and admired charity that supports … Continue reading
We are witnessing the long, slow death of local government
‘We are staring into an abyss here, and it’s time we faced up to it’. Those were the words of a Conservative councillor in Croydon – in 2013. Here, ANDREW FISHER, pictured right, says that faced with austerity on a … Continue reading
No government checks on council’s borrowing for 15 years
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Scandals and revelations from other busted boroughs demonstrate a deliberate lack of diligence by the Tory government Government failures to keep a check on the runaway borrowing of Croydon and other local authorities is likely to come … Continue reading
Council’s striking homelessness staff take their fight to Gove
Senior officials have been accused of deliberately sending in false data on homelessness, potentially costing Croydon as much as £3m per year. By our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE Council staff working in Croydon’s housing and homelessness department have today … Continue reading
Petitioners tell ‘powerless’ Mayor Perry it’s time to stand down
Residents have reacted to last week’s announcement from Tory minister Michael Gove of new, increased statutory powers for the government commissioners overseeing the running of the cash-strapped council by demanding that Jason Perry, Croydon’s £82,000 per year elected Mayor, should … Continue reading
Government panel given extra powers and new commissioners
Council to remain under the supervision of government-appointed panel, which has been given extra statutory powers, until 2025. By STEVEN DOWNES No matter how many times, or in how many different ways, that Jason Perry, Croydon’s piss-poor, part-time Mayor, stamps … Continue reading
Councils’ collapse should have been halted by Sunak or Gove
Croydon is far from alone as a cash-strapped local authority. And bit by bit, evidence is emerging from the series of financial crashes of councils that implicates not only Michael Gove but also Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. By STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading
Gove finally admits it: Localism got councils all in a Pickles
Is the Levelling Up minister in denial about the extent of financial problems in local government? It certainly seems that way after his speech to the Local Government Association conference yesterday. By STEVEN DOWNES Michael Gove, the Secretary of State … Continue reading
Perry enters new plea to government to write-off council debts
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘This is not something we will be able to fix alone,’ the borough’s Mayor conceded in a recent letter to the Tory government – who haven’t bothered replying to his request. By our Town Hall correspondent, KEN … Continue reading
‘Regressive’, ‘unfair’ and ‘nonsensical’: Council Tax must go
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was 11 when England’s Council Tax bands were set. At the time, the average house price in Britain was £56,853. There are growing calls not only for a reform of the way local authorities, like cash-strapped … Continue reading
£5m cuts to disability services lack proper legal assessment
Having imposed his 15per cent Council Tax hike on the borough – without securing the refinancing deal he said was essential to deal with Croydon’s “unsustainable” debt – Tory Mayor Jason Perry is now cutting services. But some say that … Continue reading
Perry admits he has failed to secure £540m debt write-off deal
CROYDON IN CRISIS: After a year in office, the Tory Mayor told a Purley audience last night that he has failed to ‘fix the finances’ and he won’t be opening the local swimming pool without lumbering the area with another … Continue reading
Council Tax campaign appeals to Stormzy: Save Croydon!
A people’s protest is planned outside Croydon Town Hall tonight, with the organisers appealing to Brit award-winning rapper Stormzy to join them in their fight against unfair Council Tax hikes and tens of millions of pounds of additional cuts to … Continue reading
Shoppers and pensioners hit hard by food inflation at 19.2%
There’s no sign of the cost-of-living crisis abating any time soon, with one business expert warning: ‘Supermarkets pursuing endless price increases are heading down a path of mutually-assured destruction’ Food price inflation was up to 19.2per cent in March, from … Continue reading
Labour attack ads score yet another embarrassing own goal
‘Smear campaign’ which started with ad backed by Croydon North’s MP has managed to draw even more attention to how his mates bankrupted the borough. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor Labour’s controversial attack ads, which started with a racist dog … Continue reading
‘Anarchy in Croydon’ fears as Mayor axes 22 safety officer jobs
Neighbourhood Safety Officers work to reduce fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour, and one worker facing redundancy warns that erasing his department is ‘a complete invitation to stabbings’. By STEVEN DOWNES A council workers’ union is claiming that cash-strapped Croydon’s decision to … Continue reading
Average house prices in Croydon almost double in a decade
Estate agents and buy-to-let landlords feel the squeeze as Trussonomics begins to have an impact The cost of an average house in Croydon has increased by 92.4per cent in the 10 years since 2013, according to research based on figures … Continue reading
Council’s payroll staff vote to strike over redundancy plans
Chief exec accused of ignoring ‘serious whistleblowing complaint’, as one-quarter of staff in one council section are facing losing their jobs – and all those to be made redundant are BAME women Members of the GMB union working in the … Continue reading
Perry’s budget cuts to cause borough serious legal problems
Last year, the South West London Law Centre provided help and advice to 3,200 people. This year, Croydon Mayor Jason Perry is cutting all council funding to the centre. KEN TOWL attended their annual meeting last week to hear about … Continue reading
Buy a piece of Council Tax protest art – and help local charity
Eye-catchingly bright yellow posters, featuring Croydon Mayor Jason Perry and the slogan “15% NOW YEAH!!” have been appearing around the town centre. More inspired than many of the offerings from the dullards in charge of the Borough of Culture, the … Continue reading
