Category Archives: Croydon South

That was the year that was – and 2026’s prospects look bleak

ANDREW FISHER, in his final iC column of 2025, considers the past year in Croydon, and how that might affect next May’s Town Hall elections. PLUS: How Your Party’s grassroots are being denied money and data to be able to … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Andrew Fisher, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Croydon South, Croydon West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice, Streatham and Croydon North | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lidl’s Hamsey Green plans get criticism from council planners

Even Croydon’s planners have joined the chorus of disapproval from residents in Sanderstead, Tandridge and Warlingham over the ‘disjointed and generic’ proposals for the Good Companions site at Hamsey Green, reports housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES There is a planning saga … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Croydon South, Lidl, Planning, Sanderstead | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Time is running out to help protect Croydon’s open spaces

The London Wildlife Trust is celebrating the successful reintroduction of a species to a site in Croydon – while also calling on all residents to lobby their MPs over the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which is due for a crucial … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon East, Croydon parks, Croydon South, Croydon West, Environment, Hutchinson's Bank, Natasha Irons, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

£3,000-a-ticket for Tory conference event and Philp turns up late

WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor, on what has been a difficult few days for Croydon’s Conservatives at their party’s poorly attended conference  More problems for Croydon’s top Tories at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, where Croydon South MP Chris Philp … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Chris Philp MP, Crime, Croydon South | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

‘Croydon: our time is coming!’ Labour’s Davis rallies her fans

So just what did Labour’s Rowenna Davis say she has to offer if she is elected Mayor of Croydon next May? KEN TOWL was at her campaign’s official launch, so that you, and Steve Reed OBE, didn’t need to be … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Chris Philp MP, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Ken Towl, Natasha Irons, Rowenna Davis, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Tamar Barrett (was Nwafor) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Davis’s big launch might have been good, if only I could hear it

POLITICAL SKETCH: Ever been invited to a party when you’ve been expected to pay for your food? Or a launch event which is set up so you can neither see nor hear clearly the speakers on stage? KEN TOWL has, … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Chris Clark, Chris Philp MP, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Fairfield, Ken Towl, Natasha Irons, Rowenna Davis, Sarah Jones MP, South Croydon, South Norwood, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Tamar Barrett (was Nwafor), Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Labour tweaks the rules to make sure members have no say

There might actually be something resembling a council candidate selection meeting for Labour members in Broad Green ward tonight – though most reasonable people will see through it as a thinly disguised foregone conclusion By STEVEN DOWNES Some Labour members … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Ben Taylor, Broad Green, Enid Mollyneaux, Eunice O'Dame, Fairfield, Manju Shahul Hameed, Rowenna Davis, Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

After the riots, survey finds we are not an ‘island of strangers’

Have we really lost our sense of community? Or are we all just people separated by our mobile devices? Our columnist ANDREW FISHER, right, looks at some interesting data from a piece of academic research PLUS: Jeremy Corbyn stands up … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Fisher, Community associations, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Libraries, Streatham and Croydon North | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Croydon on Met’s list of 20 police stations to remain open

Croydon is among the 20 police stations in London listed to stay open, in controversial closure plans released yesterday by the Metropolitan Police. Sutton, Kingston and Brixton police front counters will also be kept open under the plans. But Wimbledon, … Continue reading

Posted in Boris Johnson, Chris Philp MP, Crime, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Policing, Sadiq Khan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

How chief Nimby Philp built in Tories’ own Purley backyard

BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent, on what is undoubtedly, even by Croydon’s low standards, the most egregious example of ‘do as we say, not as we do’ from our politicians Croydon residents living south of the Flyover, whether they are in … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Chris Clark, Chris Philp MP, Croydon South, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Property, Purley | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

‘The government was left with no choice’ over Commissioners

The government “was left with no choice” but to appoint Commissioners to take over the running of Croydon’s omnishambles council, a decision which reflects “serious failings on leadership and culture” at the Town Hall. Two of Croydon’s Labour MPs, Sarah … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Chris Philp MP, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Natasha Irons, Rowenna Davis, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

London is a success. That’s why the right really hates our city

Earlier this month, in a corruscating piece of writing, Ian Dunt, author and columnist for The i Paper, tried to explain the phenomenon of right-wing politicians – including Croydon South MP Chris Philp – and commentators who have taken to … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Fisher, Chris Philp MP, Croydon South, Inside Croydon, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, The Andrew Fisher Interview, Under The Flyover | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

‘Scandalous’ planners condemn Coulsdon’s chippy to closure

Croydon’s planners have condemned Glade Fisheries, a long-cherished Old Coulsdon business, to its doom without a peep from the local councillors or Mayor Jason Perry. In March, KJC Architects applied to the council on behalf of the property’s landlord to … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Chris Philp MP, Community associations, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Croydon South, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Margaret Bird, Mayor Jason Perry, Old Coulsdon, Planning, Richard Howard | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Starmer alienates support by adopting the language of Powell

The Prime Minister’s ‘island of strangers’ speech this week was ‘as politically stupid as it is morally bankrupt’, writes ANDREW FISHER It could all have been so different. In 2020, Keir Starmer said, “We welcome migrants, we don’t scapegoat them. … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Fisher, Chris Philp MP, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Gavin Barwell, Natasha Irons, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Philp’s taped admission of big Brexit drawback on immigration

The previous Conservative government, and the MP for Croydon South, knew for more than five years that leaving the EU would make it more difficult to deal with asylum seekers – but that’s not what they said publicly Chris Philp, … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon South | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

‘Hypocrite’ Tory voted for proposal to destroy heritage home

Town Hall reporter KEN LEE on a planning committee meeting where Conservative councillors backed a private developer’s bid to drastically alter a listed family home in a conservation area So much for Tory Mayor Jason Perry protecting family homes in … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Chris Clark, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Coulsdon Town, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Ian Parker, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Ria Patel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Agent on a mission overlooks Coulsdon Tories’ dark secret

It is just over a year until Croydon goes to the polls in its second Mayoral election, and the local Tories already seem up for the fight. But leading the way for them is a paid gofer who struggles to … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Ben Taylor, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Coulsdon Town, Council Tax, Croydon South, Ian Parker, Mario Creatura, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Tony Newman, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Our four MPs are doing nothing to try to stop carnage in Gaza

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Are our borough’s four MPs doing the ‘right thing’? DAVID WHITE doesn’t think so “Israel has been genociding the Palestinians for months now. The point is why no one stops the carnage. This is the question” These words … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, David White, Natasha Irons, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

‘Nosey’ Parker proves to be a costly expense for local Tories

Our Political Editor, WALTER CRONXITE, on a spectacular own-goal by Croydon Tories’ long-standing agent It is said that people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. The aphorism played out at Croydon Conservatives’ HQ at 36 Brighton Road in Purley would … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Ben Taylor, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Coulsdon Town, Croydon South, Ian Parker | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Big Brother arrives in Croydon with Orwellian police cameras

North End and London Road are to be the first locations in the country to have permanently fitted Live Facial Recognition cameras, despite significant concerns about the legalities of the surveillance techniques and questions over their whether they even work … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Crime, Croydon Council, Croydon West, Fairfield, Knife crime, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Policing, Ria Patel, Zoe Garbett | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Labour candidate refuses to answer questions over spending

According to their election expense returns for one constituency, Croydon Labour were paying a worker at a rate of just £26.89 per day during last year’s General Election campaign. And rival politicians reckon their numbers don’t add up, as WALTER … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Ben Taylor, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Croydon South, Ian Parker | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Planning committee signs a blank cheque for Polaska scheme

Croydon is taking on significant risks by granting planning permission for 220 ‘later-living’ homes in Purley, a councillor warned a Town Hall meeting last night. By our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES The majority of members of Croydon Council’s planning committee … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Chris Philp MP, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Neil Garratt, Planning, Polaska, Polaska Assets Ltd, Property, Purley, Purley Pool | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Council now to pay subsidy for Perry’s ‘free’ Purley Pool

Proposals buried in a planners’ report show that a vast development of retirement homes to be built by private developers are to have Croydon’s cash-strapped council picking up some of their construction costs for a swimming pool and leisure centre. … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Chris Philp MP, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Polaska, Polaska Assets Ltd, Property, Purley, Purley Pool | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Hastings councillor offers a way through the political brambles

How should we counter the rise of the far-right? As KEN TOWL found out when he arrived on time at the Croydon School of Philosophy, by offering some truth and understanding In the School of Philosophy on Addiscombe Grove, not … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon East, Croydon Greens, Croydon South, Croydon West, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Ken Towl, Natasha Irons, Peter Underwood, Ria Patel, Sarah Jones MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Residents scathing of report on Purley retirement flats

The fix is in. Council planning officials who describe the ‘harm’ that 220 retirement flats would do to Purley have still recommended approval ahead of a committee meeting next week. And there could yet be hidden costs for Croydon with … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Chris Philp MP, Community associations, Coulsdon West Residents' Association, Croydon Council, Croydon South, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, HADRA, Holly Ramsey, Housing, Leisure services, Mayor Jason Perry, Old Coulsdon Residents' Association, Parking, Planning, Polaska, Polaska Assets Ltd, Property, Purley, Purley Pool, Samir Dwesar, Selsdon Residents' Association, Simon Brew | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments