Category Archives: Richard Ottaway MP

Glenda Jackson performance worthy of her third Oscar

Residents in her north London constituency have complained of her lack of activity in the House of Commons of late. But Glenda Jackson‘s speech in the Thatcher debate was rated by some to have all the acting panache and passion … Continue reading

Posted in Gavin Barwell, Richard Ottaway MP, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

“Gis a planning job”: damning email from Croydon councillor

Inside Croydon has obtained an email sent from a Croydon councillor to a leading firm in the building industry, seeking work based on their “planning expertise” at a time when the councillor was serving on the Town Hall’s planning committees. … Continue reading

Posted in Clare Hilley, Croydon South, Julie Belvir, Planning, Richard Ottaway MP, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Planning conflicts of interest? In Croydon? Don’t be silly

The Daily Torygraph, that bastion of left-wing revolutionaries, yesterday ran a fascinating report on how some councillors had been abusing their position within local authority planning committees to line their own pockets. Or purses. Shock! Horror! This, of course, would … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Cane Hill, Clare Hilley, Croydon South, Housing, Menta Tower, Planning, Property, Richard Ottaway MP, Ruskin Square, URV, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nash letter dashes hopes for Roke to escape Harris

Parents, governors and staff at Roke Primary were left “shattered” last week, after the local MP, Richard Ottaway, passed on to them a letter he had received from Lord Nash, the under-secretary at the Department for Education. Nash’s letter runs … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Kenley, Richard Ottaway MP, Roke Primary | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Former mayors Hecks and Millard have died

Two former Mayors of Croydon, Pat Hecks and Derek Millard, have died.

Posted in Croydon South, Purley, Richard Ottaway MP, South Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Equivalents and exclusions boost results rather than education

Things are beginning to look grim for the future of Roke Primary, where parents, governors and staff fear that the public asset of the school, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, is about to be handed over by education secretary … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Gavin Barwell, Kenley, Richard Ottaway MP, Roke Primary, Schools | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

What councillors say: “no opposition to Roke proposals”

Roke Primary is not “a failing” or under-performing school, yet Michael Gove, the Education minister, is about to hand over this publicly owned asset to a carpet salesman to run as an “academy”. No consultation, no mandate, and no agreement … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Kenley, Richard Ottaway MP, Roke Primary, Schools, Steve Hollands | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Local Tories to quit party over gay marriage vote

Croydon’s three Members of Parliament will today all vote in favour of gay marriage, despite absolute opposition from, in one case, his church and in the case of both Conservatives, several local Tory party members. Inside Croydon understands that the … Continue reading

Posted in Church and religions, Gavin Barwell, Richard Ottaway MP, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pollard makes a false dubstep at London’s New Year parade

The secrecy, half-truths and bogusness of so much of what Croydon Council is about was extended even to the float at the Mayor of London’s New Year’s Day Parade last month. Alongside similar floats from the other London boroughs, Croydon’s … Continue reading

Posted in Activities, London Mozart Players, Lynne Hale, Mayor of London, Music, Richard Ottaway MP, Tim Pollard | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Boundary change vote leaves Barwell with nowhere to hide

The resounding 292 to 334 defeat of the Conservative-led Government in the House of Commons tonight, with the LibDems breaking their coalition to vote with Labour and others against proposed boundary changes to parliamentary seats, will have a significant impact … Continue reading

Posted in Boris Johnson, Croydon Central, Croydon North, Croydon South, Gavin Barwell, Richard Ottaway MP, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Croydon short-changed by £95m on central grant funding

The people of Croydon are daily being short-changed by the government, as the borough receives a central grant from government that is £95 million less than our inner London neighbours, Labour-run Lambeth, despite there being 60,000 more people living in … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Croydon South, Education, Gavin Barwell, Lambeth Council, Mike Fisher, Richard Ottaway MP, Schools, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Croydon MP looking to make a crisp packet from expenses?

Given the national furore created by the MPs’ expenses scandal just a couple of years ago, you might imagine that our Westminster representatives would be extra careful over their financial conduct. One Croydon Conservative MP attracted special criticism for his … Continue reading

Posted in Gavin Barwell, Richard Ottaway MP | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Beaten by the boundaries? Barwell would be wrong to run

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Did the local MP really say that? Contributing editor ANDREW PELLING sets aside his disbelief to crunch the numbers on how the votes might stack up for any re-jigged Croydon Central seat My editor always groans whenever I … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Pelling, Boris Johnson, Croydon Central, Croydon South, Fairfield, Gavin Barwell, Richard Ottaway MP, Selhurst | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

LibDem candidate tries to steal credit for scrap metal bill

Marisha Ray, the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Croydon North by-election, has criticised people who steal. But a LibDem press release saw their candidate being a little light-fingered herself. Just ahead of Remembrance Sunday, Ray has claimed the credit for … Continue reading

Posted in 2012 by-election, Crime, Croydon North, Croydon South, Marisha Ray, Richard Ottaway MP | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Power raises questions over Fitze’s fitness to chair

CROYDON COMMENTARY: With tens of millions of NHS cash not properly accounted for, ANDREW PELLING  asks why Croydon’s Conservative MPs and councillors are not doing more to protect their constituents’ health care A public inquiry into the mystery of the … Continue reading

Posted in David Fitze, Gavin Barwell, Health, Jason Cummings, Mayday Hospital, Purley Hospital, Richard Ottaway MP, Toni Letts, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Halloween horror: How did your MP vote on the EU budget?

The ConDem government was defeated in parliament on the EU budget last night – Halloween – after 53 Conservative MPs defied their party over the issue. Tory rebels joined with Labour to pass an amendment calling for a real-terms cut … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Central, Croydon South, Gavin Barwell, Paul Burstow MP, Richard Ottaway MP, Tom Brake MP, Tony Pearson | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

MP Ottaway U-turns to sail off into the expenses-free sunset

“How do you know that a politician is lying?” goes the old musical hall joke. “Their lips move…” Croydon South’s absentee MP, Richard Ottaway, the avid expenses claimer who went sailing at Cowes in the week of the London riots, … Continue reading

Posted in Boris Johnson, Clare Hilley, Croydon 8/8, Croydon South, Gavin Barwell, Mayor of London, Richard Ottaway MP, Steve O'Connell | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Candidates by the bus-load start by-election campaigns

Croydon North attracted nine candidates wanting to be an MP at the last General Election. The upcoming by-election looks also to be attracting a high number of participants. The Communists have selected Ben Stevenson, who ran in the constituency in … Continue reading

Posted in 2012 by-election, Andrew Stranack, Crime, Croydon 8/8, Croydon North, Gavin Barwell, Marisha Ray, Richard Ottaway MP, Schools | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

East is East for Barwell after boundary changes change

As former MP ANDREW PELLING observes, the revised proposals for the parliamentary constituencies in Croydon and Sutton suggest that in this part of south London, at least, the LibDems have driven a hard bargain The Boundary Commission’s latest proposals have … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Pelling, Coulsdon, Croydon Central, Croydon North, Croydon South, Fairfield, Gavin Barwell, London-wide issues, Paul Burstow MP, Richard Ottaway MP, Selhurst, Selsdon & Ballards, Tom Brake MP | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

‘MPs are being chosen by tiny bunches of people’

Local democracy is in a state of terminal decay, through disinterest, apathy, disgust with politicians and general ignorance, with the effect that unrepresentative cabals are dominating the national political agenda, from Town Hall to parliament, often assuming power simply by … Continue reading

Posted in Clare Hilley, Eddy Arram, Gavin Barwell, Margaret Mead, Michael Neal, Richard Ottaway MP, Sara Bashford, Steve O'Connell, Tom Brake MP, Tony Harris, Tony Pearson, Vidhi Mohan | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The end of Allders: a timeline to oblivion

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The decline of Allders is partly a story of Croydon itself. ANDREW PELLING looks at the council’s role in the final days and asks if more could have been done by the Town Hall to save the near-1,000 … Continue reading

Posted in Allders, Andrew Pelling, Boris Johnson, Business, Centrale, Coulsdon, Croydon 8/8, Croydon Council, East Croydon, Fairfield, History, Ikea, Ken Livingstone, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Mike Fisher, Parking, Policing, Property, Purley, Purley Way, Richard Ottaway MP, Ruskin Square, Surrey Street, Transport, URV, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Promotions for Grant and Deighton; but nothing for Barwell?

The ConDem government’s week-long reshuffle has included much interest for locally based figures, with Helen Grant, who has a solicitors’ practice based on the Purley Way, getting promoted to a job at the Ministry of Justice. The Conservative MP for … Continue reading

Posted in 2012 Olympics, Gavin Barwell, Health, Paul Burstow MP, Purley Way, Richard Ottaway MP, St Helier Hospital, Tom Brake MP | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Council helps Lidl defeat batman over pub demolition

Croydon Council has given the all-clear to Lidl to demolish the Good Companions pub at Hamsey Green, leaving local residents and some Sanderstead councillors to pin their hopes on objections to the planned supermarket because it is unsuitable for a … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Environment, Fairfield, Lynne Hale, Maria Gatland, Planning, Property, Pubs, Richard Ottaway MP, Sanderstead, South Croydon, Tim Pollard, Whitgift Foundation, Wildlife, Yvette Hopley | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Sutton shows its neighbours the power of volunteering

With Croydon Council failing to back any local summer fairs or concerts, ANDREW PELLING joined thousands of other residents from the borough at yesterday’s environmental fair in Carshalton Croydon used to be blessed with large community events in its parks, … Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Art, Charity, Church and religions, Community associations, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Education, Environment, Gardening, Health, Jon Rouse, Music, Outside Croydon, Paul Burstow MP, Richard Ottaway MP, Sara Bashford, Selsdon & Ballards, St Helier Hospital, Sutton Council, Tom Brake MP, Walks, Waste incinerator, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Lidl encounters strong opposition after paying £2m for pub site

Lidl could have paid three times the market rate to purchase the Good Companions pub site on Limpsfield Road, Sanderstead, and look like they could be left with a £2.2 million real estate bill for a store that few locals … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Crime, Croydon South, Environment, Fairfield, Lynne Hale, Outside Croydon, Planning, Property, Pubs, Richard Ottaway MP, Sanderstead, Schools, South Croydon, Tim Pollard, Waddon, Yvette Hopley | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments