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Category Archives: Council Tax
From tantrum to grovel, Perry shifts posture for Commissioners
TOWN HALL SKETCH: When Mayor’s deputy tells a council meeting that, ‘Aside from the finances, we are performing well’, it is clear that outside help is urgently required. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor “Data!” Croydon Mayor Jason Perry had just … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Callton Young, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Stuart King
Tagged Cllr Callton Young, Cllr Rowenna Davis, Cllr Stuart King, Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Lynne Hale, Mario Creatura, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114 Notice, Tony Pearson, Tory, Transformation plan
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Official figures show Croydon’s £90.8m in unpaid Council Tax
Croydon households owe £90.8million in unpaid Council Tax, the second-highest level in London, in what reports say is another indication of the cost-of-living crisis. It is also another sign of cash-strapped Croydon’s poor administration, with an increasing rate of non-collection. … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Business, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 2025 Council budget, Commissioner, Conservative, Council budget, Council Tax, Council Tax arrears, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Employment Tribunal, Improvement Panel, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114 Notice, Tory, Transformation plan
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£1,000 per day ‘Interim Adam’ was Kerswell’s personal pick
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Residents are stung twice for recruitment costs of head of planning, at a crucial time for Westfield development and review of London and Local Plans. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Adam Wilkinson was handed the position as Croydon’s … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Adam Wilkinson, Business, Council Tax, CPO, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Adam Wilkinson, Adam Wilkinson Consultancy Ltd, Companies House, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Derby City Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Katherine Kerswell, Kent County Council, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
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Mayor coming under pressure to sack council CEO Kerswell
EXCLUSIVE: With no real solution in sight, and the appointment of government Commissioners getting ever closer, sending patronising memos to Whitehall seeking to blame everyone but herself probably wasn’t the shrewdest move by the £204,000 per year council chief. By … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Angela Rayner, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, James Blythe, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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Podcast: Our Croydon Insider panel looks at council’s crisis
What will the appointment by government of Commissioners to run Croydon Council mean to you as a resident? After five years of ever-increasing bail-outs for Croydon’s cash-stapped council, what alternative actions were there? And is Mayor Jason Perry right to … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, Inside Croydon, Katherine Kerswell, Ken Towl, Libraries, Mayor Jason Perry, Under The Flyover
Tagged Cheryl Fergus-Ferrell, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, David Weir, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Ken Towl, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Podcast, Sharon Owen, Tory
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Poor Perry shuffles his papers but can’t find any answers
TOWN HALL SKETCH: At the first council cabinet meeting for three months, Croydon’s Tory Mayor stamped his feet and screamed in self-pity, and then admitted that he can’t fix the finances. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Jason Perry stood up, … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Leila Ben-Hassel, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Angela Rayner, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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‘Solution to restoring sustainability lies outside our control’
Here is the full text of Mayor Jason Perry’s letter to Secretary of State Angela Rayner, in response to the announcement that the government is ‘minded’ to send in Commissioners to manage Croydon’s ‘runaway’ finances I am writing in response … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Angela Rayner, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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Crisis? What crisis? Perry ducks emergency Town Hall meeting
EXCLUSIVE: Council bosses push back opposition calls for an urgent meeting to debate the government announcement about installing Commissioners to run the borough’s affairs. By STEVEN DOWNES Crisis? What crisis? Croydon’s Mayor Jason Perry won’t allow any emergency discussion at … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Stuart King
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Angela Rayner, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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Tory councillor’s Commissioner video nasty is another wild rant
Simon Brew, a Conservative councillor in Croydon for the past 11 years, hasn’t had the best of luck with his campaigning on local issues when he has tried to use modern communication techniques – like videos. Remember how he lobbied … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Purley, Section 114 notice, Simon Brew, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Bankrupt, Chrildren's Services, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Eleanor Brazil, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Levelling, LGC, Local Government Chronicle, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Phil Brookes, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
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CEO Kerswell ordered block on staff accessing Inside Croydon
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Sinister’ and ‘pathetic’ are how some council figures have described the council’s internet ban on this website. A FoI request has unearthed details of how the £204,000 pa CEO has been spending her time pursuing her own … Continue reading
Croydon residents pick up the £1m tab for ‘improvement’ panel
It is residents who will pay the cost of government ‘intervention’ if Commissioners move in at Fisher’s Folly next month, just as they have been paying for a panel of Whitehall-appointed ‘experts’ since 2021. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Official figures … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged Bankrupt, Chrildren's Services, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Eleanor Brazil, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Levelling, LGC, Local Government Chronicle, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Phil Brookes, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
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Business as usual for Kerswell – but remember to bring a pen!
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Like the captain of the Titanic, but she hasn’t realised we’ve hit the iceberg’. Council managers were ordered to attend briefing sessions on the chief exec’s pet project, Future Croydon, even though it looks doomed to be junked by … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 'Future Croydon', 15% Council Tax hike, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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Ministry planning one-year stay in Croydon for Commissioners
EXCLUSIVE: Buried in the avalanche of emergency documents issued around the government’s statement on the mismanagement of the council was a timetable for the proposed intervention. By STEVEN DOWNES Commissioners could be in place in Croydon for less than a … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Angela Rayner, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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Kerswell rejects government decision in Q&A to council staff
EXCLUSIVE: The day after Jim McMahon, the local government minister, announced plans that could see Commissioners appointed to run Croydon, the £204,000 per year CEO issued a lengthy note defending her position. Our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE, obtained the … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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Panicked Perry admitted to Rayner: I can’t balance the budget
EXCLUSIVE: Correspondence released following this week’s announcement from Whitehall that Commissioners are likely to be sent in to run the council included a letter from the Mayor that admitted his failure to ‘fix the finances’. By STEVEN DOWNES The government … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Claire Bonham, Cllr Rowenna Davis, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon West, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Natasha Irons MP, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Steve Reed OBE, Streatham and Croydon North, Tory
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Judgement Day has happened for Croydon. Now we need to act
CROYDON COMMENTARY: This borough has been failed multiple times, by the Mayor, by the majority of opposition councillors, by council directors, and by the government. PETER UNDERWOOD, the Green Party’s candidate for Croydon Mayor in 2026, offers some suggestions The … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Cllr Rowenna Davis, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Green Party, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Peter Underwood, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
14 Comments
Labour figures accuse wasteful Perry of ‘serious incompetence’
‘Once again, the people of Croydon are paying the price for the failure of politicians who don’t have our community’s interests at heart’, according to 2026 Mayoral candidate Rowenna Davis Labour’s candidate for Mayor of Croydon, Rowenna Davis, has accused … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon West, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Natasha Irons, Richard Howard, Rowenna Davis, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Claire Bonham, Cllr Rowenna Davis, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon West, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Natasha Irons MP, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Steve Reed OBE, Streatham and Croydon North, Tory
7 Comments
Radical change is overdue at council says LibDem Howard
A former Army bomb disposal expert who will be leading the Liberal Democrats’ election efforts in 2026 says Croydon’s residents are ‘fed up with paying more and getting less’ Richard Howard, the LibDems’ candidate for Mayor of Croydon in 2026, … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Howard, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Claire Bonham, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Liberal Democrats, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Richard Howard, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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Reeves’ Spending Review sees Labour take London for granted
Taking Londoners, and Labour voters in London, for granted in a big effort to secure ‘Red Wall’ areas less loyal to the party looks like a ploy straight out of the Morgan McSweeney playbook. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor The … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Policing, Sadiq Khan
Tagged Chancellor of the Exchequer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Darren Jones, Labour, LCA, London, London Assembly, London Borough of Croydon, London Communications Agency, Mayor, Morgan McSweeney, Rachel Reeves
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Mayor Perry: ‘Residents of Croydon have felt enough pain’
The Mayor who has hiked your Council Tax by 27% in just two years today tried to claim that he has the Town Hall finances under control and that no one had raised any concerns about soaring levels of borrowing … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Cllr Rowenna Davis, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
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