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Category Archives: Elaine Jackson
‘The vote on the left split more than the vote on the right’
ELECTION COMMENTARY: Jason Perry, Croydon’s failed Mayor, may have been handed another four years in office, but the voting numbers declared yesterday spell trouble for the borough’s other Conservatives. By STEVEN DOWNES, Editor, Inside Croydon Jason Perry, Croydon’s failed Mayor, … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Ben Flook, Chris Philp MP, Conrad Hall, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Elaine Jackson, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Pusey, Natasha Irons, Rowenna Davis, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North
Tagged 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon mayoral election, 2026 local elections, Ben Flook, Chris Philp MP, Cllr Rowenna Davis, Conservative, Coulsdon, Councillor Rowenna Davis, Croydon, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Reform Ltd, Reform UK, Richard Howard, Rowenna Davis, South Norwood, Tory
28 Comments
Vote count delays raise ‘real concerns’ over ballot security
EXCLUSIVE: A three-day election count, and a pause between the polls closing tonight and ballot verification tomorrow morning, has raised serious questions over arrangements for the count, which is taking place at the Fairfield Halls. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson
Tagged 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon mayoral election, 2026 local elections, Ballot verification, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Election count, Fairfield Halls, London Borough of Croydon, Returning Officer
14 Comments
Council’s £166,000 assistant CEO quits Croydon after 8 weeks
More problems with recruitment and retention at the cash-strapped council as the woman tipped for top job heads for the exit. KEN LEE reports Jenny Rowlands, who was hired in February as the council’s £166,000 per year assistant chief executive, … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice
Tagged Camden Council, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Interim assistant chief executive, Interims, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Tory
7 Comments
Croydon’s rewards for failure laid bare in Town Hall Rich List
Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s chief executive who issued three Section 114 notices of effective bankruptcy during her time in charge at the council, was taking home salary and pensions totalling £223,838 in the year before she left Fisher’s Folly. Yet Kerswell … Continue reading
Posted in Annette McPartland, Bromley Council, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Elaine Jackson, Helen Bailey, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Lambeth Council, Outside Croydon, Richard Simpson, Southwark Council, Susmita Sen, Sutton Council
Tagged Ade Adetosoye, Althea Loderick, Annette McPartland, Bromley Council, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Conservative, Corporate Director of Resources, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Helen Bailey, Jane West, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lambeth council, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Simpson, Section 151 officer, Southwark Council, Susmita Sen, Sutton Council, Tax Payers Alliance, Town Hall Rich List, TPA
10 Comments
Council rushes through £200,000 finance job ahead of elections
Government-appointed Commissioners are pushing through the appointment of a new finance director at the Town Hall – regardless of who might become Croydon’s new Mayor. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon Council, which has debts of £1.4billion, is about to hire … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Annette McPartland, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Elaine Jackson, Jane West, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Susmita Sen
Tagged Annette McPartland, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Conservative, Corporate Director of Resources, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jane West, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 151 officer, Susmita Sen
3 Comments
Commissioners: council lacks focus and robust delivery plans
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Government releases report critical of the lack of progress and slow pace of improvements in finances under Tory Mayor Jason Perry. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Six weeks out from the local elections, the government has published … Continue reading
Posted in Abi Brown, Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jackie Belton, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Tory
8 Comments
Whatever could they mean? Commissioners call for ‘honesty’
In what is overall a highly critical report from the government-appointed Commissioners after six months working closely with the council run by successive chief execs Katherine Kerswell (until she left in October with a £50,000 pay-off) and Elaine Jackson, and … Continue reading
Posted in Abi Brown, Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jackie Belton, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Tory
4 Comments
No cover-up over £12m SEND overspend, claims council chief
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Town Hall bosses have been forced to accept 23 recommendations from external accountants after IT problems saw them lose track of thousands of payments, in the latest council cock-up that was described by a veteran Tory councillor … Continue reading
Posted in Amy Foster, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Croydon Council, Dr Ola Olasode, Education, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Ian Parker, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, SEND
Tagged 2026 council budget, audit and governance committee, Cllr Amy Foster, Cllr Ian Parker, Conrad Hall, Conservative, Council budget, Council IT department, Croydon, Croydon Council, Education, Ian Parker, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Oracle, SEND, Shelley Davies, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, Synergy, Tory
4 Comments
It was a bad deal for Croydon. Why did they allow it to happen?
CROYDON COMMENTARY: With Tory Mayor Jason Perry using £½million of public money as a hush fund, RICHARD HOWARD, pictured right, the LibDem mayoral candidate, lays out all the obvious flaws with the council’s Red Clover Gardens scheme Two years ago, … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Brick by Brick, Business, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Coulsdon, Coulsdon East, Coulsdon Town, Croydon Council, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Housing, Ian Parker, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Howard, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, The Penn Report, Tony McArdle
Tagged 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon mayoral election, Brick by Brick, Cllr Ian Parker, Conrad Hall, Conservative, Coulsdon, Coulsdon Town, Croydon, Croydon Council, Green Party, Ian Parker, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Liberal Democrats, Lion Green Road car park, London Borough of Croydon, Major Richard Howard, Peter Underwood, Red Clover Gardens, Regen Capital, Regen Coulsdon, Richard Howard, Scrutiny and Overview Committee, Tory
3 Comments
Labour refuse to respond to Cummings’s budget challenge
WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor, on a sham challenge issued to rival political parties by a borrowing-dependent Conservative administration that is trying to con the public that they have ‘fixed the finances’ As Tory Mayor Jason Perry prepares to deliver what … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Claire Bonham, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Ria Patel, Section 114 notice, Stuart King
Tagged 2026 council budget, 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon mayoral election, 2026 local elections, Cllr Stuart King, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Green Party, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Lollipop patrols, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
9 Comments
Budget-buster Perry hires another six-figure salaried ‘interim’
KEN LEE, our Town Hall reporter, on the latest £150,000 per year staff signing by Croydon’s bankrupt council Jason Perry, Croydon’s £84,000 per year executive Mayor who has closed four public libraries to save money and axed lollipop road safety … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Jenny Rowlands, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice
Tagged Camden Council, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Georgia Gould, Interim assistant chief executive, Interims, Jenny Rowlands, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Tory
13 Comments
33% Council Tax increase: Mayor Perry’s legacy for Croydon
Typical households will be paying £600 more in Council Tax in the coming year than they did before the Conservative Mayor took office, while yet more services are cut. But part-time Perry and his councillor colleagues did vote themselves a … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Katherine Kerswell, Peter Underwood, Section 114 notice, Stuart King, West Thornton
Tagged 33% Council Tax hike, Cllr Stuart King, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, The Green Party, Tory
17 Comments
Finance chief leaves council three months sooner than planned
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Weeks after the abrupt departure of CEO Katherine Kerswell with a £50,000 ‘farewell present’, the early exit of head of finance Jane West prompts speculation that she has become the latest council boss to receive a generous … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Ian Golland, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Kristian Aspinall, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Uncategorized
Tagged Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Conservative, Council budget, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Ian Golland, Jane West, Kerry Critchlow, Kristian Aspinall, Lambeth, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Newham, Steve Reed OBE, Tory
15 Comments
Commissioners switch email in effort to protect whistleblowers
CROYDON IN CRISIS: After complaints that staff could not trust that their messages to the government-appointed Commissioners would be secure from their council bosses, a MHCLG official has set up an independent channel. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Three months after … Continue reading
Posted in Abi Brown, Commissioners, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Nathan Elvery, Section 114 notice
Tagged 000 pay-off, Abi Brown, £50, Commissioners, Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Fisher's Folly, Ged Curran, Jackie Belton, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lindsey Lewis, London Borough of Croydon, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Nathan Elvery
8 Comments
Commissioners critical of Mayor Perry’s risky financial plans
Council Tax UP Borrowing UP Council debts UP An official report ahead of a Town Hall meeting tomorrow night paints a grim picture. And the government Commissioners are unimpressed. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Croydon’s financial position “remains extremely fragile … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Uncategorized
Tagged Auditors, Commissioners, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Grant Thornton, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Tory
8 Comments
More churn at the top as interim directors leave the council
The rapid turnover among senior staff at Fisher’s Folly suggests that the ‘leadership issues’ which were in-part responsible for Commissioners being sent in to run Croydon Council may continue to be a problem for those left behind after Katherine Kerswell’s … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Heather Cheesbrough, Karen Agbabiaka, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Nazeya Hussain, Nick Hibberd, Section 114 notice, Venetia Reid-Baptiste
Tagged Chris Wortley, Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Nazeya Hussain, S151 Officer, Section 114 Notice, Tony Ralph, Tory, Venetia Reid-Baptiste
13 Comments
Jackson agrees to stand-in after Kerswell’s abrupt departure
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council’s assistant CEO forced to cancel retirement plans in order to fill in for her former boss, who is being given a £50,000 pay-off for not working her notice period. By STEVEN DOWNES Elaine Jackson has been … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, S151 Officer, Section 114 Notice, Tory, Transformation plan
14 Comments
Kerswell quits! But what happens next at crisis-hit council?
Mayor Jason Perry’s political rivals call for his resignation after a week when auditors have warned over ‘unsustainable’ finances and his CEO has left Croydon with a generous £50,000 pay-off. By STEVEN DOWNES Katherine Kerswell may not be replaced as … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jane West, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Ainscough, Richard Howard, Section 114 notice
Tagged Commissioner, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Grant Thornton, Green Party, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Liberal Democrats, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Ainscough, Richard Howard, The Honourable Mr Justice Nicklin, Tony Newman, Tory
7 Comments
Now Kerswell’s deputy CEO joins the rush for council exits
EXCLUSIVE: To lose one of her trusted inner circle might be unfortunate for Croydon chief exec Katherine Kerswell, but to lose two is beginning to look like an exodus. By STEVEN DOWNES Elaine Jackson, the senior council executive who Croydon … Continue reading
Posted in Abi Brown, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Abi Brown, Bexley, Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Greenwich, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jackie Belton, James Blythe, Jane West, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Merton, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, S151 Officer, Section 114 Notice, Tory, Transformation plan
8 Comments
