Category Archives: Rowenna Davis

Agency spend scandal: Perry blasted for ‘ridiculous shambles’

EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Rowenna Davis, the Labour Party’s candidate for Croydon Mayor, has described the cash-strapped council’s “runaway” spending on agency staff as “disgusting” and “unforgivable”. “It’s a ridiculous shambles,” Davis said. Davis, a councillor for Waddon ward and, … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Business, Children's Services, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Jewitt tops councillor charts for a second successive year

After the brickbats for the work-shy do-littles who populate our Town Hall Chamber, today we celebrate those elected representatives who keep busy by keeping council officials busy They will be dancing down Sauchiehall Street tonight, as proud Scot Karen Jewitt … Continue reading

Posted in Amy Foster, Claire Bonham, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Fairfield, Gayle Gander, Karen Jewitt, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel, Robert Ward, Rowenna Davis, Samir Dwesar, Simon Fox, Stuart King, Thornton Heath, West Thornton, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Labour deputy leaders Young and Collins to stand down in 2026

At least 15% of Croydon’s sitting councillors won’t be seeking election in 2026, while some are doing the ‘chicken run’ to stay on the council gravy train. EXCLUSIVE by WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Nearly a dozen of Croydon’s current 70 … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Addiscombe West, Brigitte Graham, Broad Green, Callton Young, Chris Clark, Claire Bonham, Clive Fraser, Coulsdon Town, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Fairfield, Louis Carserides, Maria Gatland, Mario Creatura, Old Coulsdon, Patricia Hay-Justice, Paul Ainscough, Purley, Ria Patel, Richard Chatterjee, Rowenna Davis, Shirley North, Simon Brew, Simon Fox, South Croydon, South Norwood, Stuart Collins, Sue Bennett, Thornton Heath, Waddon, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Labour councillor’s Friends of Israel pose starts selection row

The council elections are little more than 10 months away, but suspicions of selection stitch-ups are already circulating among Croydon Labour’s members. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Between now and next May, we can all confidently expect to receive a … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, Chrishni Reshekaron, Rowenna Davis, West Thornton | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Council failed to tell affected schools about their lollipop cuts

CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Mayor Perry must really hate Croydon’s children’ says one local politician who criticises recent Town Hall pay hikes while the council was planning to axe school road safety patrols to save just £58,000 per year. By our … Continue reading

Posted in Children's Services, Claire Bonham, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Schools, Scott Roche, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Where Mayor Perry has failed, squatters have opened park café

Squatters have taken over the café in Wandle Park. And they have been making a better job of serving the community than the council has managed in more than five years. Mayor Jason Perry first promised to have the café … Continue reading

Posted in Broad Green, Business, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Friends of Wandle Park, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Waddon, Wandle Park | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Labour’s task looks tough amid finance and membership woes

As Britain’s long-established political duopoly fractures, ANDREW FISHER looks at what that could mean for Croydon at its next local elections in 2026 For the past 100 years two parties have dominated British politics: the Conservatives and Labour. Since the … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Andrew Fisher, Council Tax, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Now Perry wants to axe school safety patrols to save £58,000

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Without any debate or discussion at the Town Hall, the Tory Mayor is trying to sneak through cuts which some fear will put thousands of children’s safety at risk on a daily basis. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Claire Bonham, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Mayor Jason Perry, Norbury Manor, Orchard Park High, Rowenna Davis, Ryelands Primary and Nursery, Schools, Selsdon and Addington Village, Waddon, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

‘More buckets than businesses’: readers quiz Labour’s Davis

‘What are you going to do about the Whitgift Centre?’ one of our readers asked Councillor Rowenna Davis, Labour’s recently selected candidate to stand for election as Croydon Mayor in May 2026. ‘At the moment, there’s more buckets than businesses.’ … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Business Association, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, Crystal Palace FC, Fairfield Halls, Inside Croydon, Ken Towl, Mayor Jason Perry, Neil Bennett, Rowenna Davis, Under The Flyover, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Reed tests election purdah with his fly-tipping announcement

Political Editor WALTER CRONXITE on the latest instance where the MP for Croydon North has bent the rules Steve Reed OBE, the environment secretary, has been accused of breaking strict purdah rules with his announcement of a crackdown on fly-tipping … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Crime, Croydon Council, Environment, Fly tipping, Mayor Jason Perry, Refuse collection, Rowenna Davis, Veolia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 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

Labour Party ends suspension of ex-council leader Newman

CROYDON IN CRISIS: After more than four years, the two men who presided over what at the time was the biggest financial collapse in the history of local authorities in England have been allowed back into their political party. EXCLUSIVE … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, David Evans, Fieldway, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, New Addington, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Steve Reed MP, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

What a load of old rubbish! And that’s just inside the Town Hall

There’s only a handful of opportunities each year for the public to question the way their council is being run, but as ANDREW FISHER, pictured right, discovered when watching last night’s full council meeting, it is increasingly obvious that the … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Andrew Fisher, Callton Young, Christopher Herman, Claire Bonham, Council Tax, Crime, Croydon Council, Fly tipping, Heathfield House, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Live Facial Recognition cameras, Mayor Jason Perry, Refuse collection, Ria Patel, Rowenna Davis, Simon Fox, Stuart King, Veolia, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

82% of Labour members back Davis as 2026 Mayor candidate

The 2026 Croydon Mayoral contest began in earnest today when Labour finally got round to naming their chosen candidate EXCLUSIVE by WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor To the surprise of absolutely nobody – except perhaps Manju Shahul-Hameed – Rowenna Davis has … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Broad Green, Croydon Council, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Tony Newman, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Labour blocks members from questioning mayoral candidates

Our Political Editor, WALTER CRONXITE, sneaked in at the back of Labour’s Zoom room last night to discover what the party’s 2026 mayoral candidates might have to offer to the people of Croydon, and found himself in a dystopian bonus … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Broad Green, Croydon Council, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Tony Newman, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Labour sticks with Anonyvoter to choose its mayor candidate

Labour’s inexplicably delayed selection process to choose a candidate to run for Croydon Mayor in 2026 enters its final stages tomorrow, but without the party holding a single in-person selection meeting with the pair of wannabes, councillors Rowenna Davis and … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Broad Green, Croydon Council, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Tony Newman, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

‘We need a Mayor who puts people first’ says Labour’s Davis

Rowenna Davis has emerged as the front-runner in the race for selection to be Labour’s candidate for next year’s Croydon mayoral elections. A councillor for Waddon since 2022, Davis announced over the weekend that she has been shortlisted in her … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Broad Green, Croydon Council, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Tony Newman, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Newman Numpty could seek Labour pick as Mayor candidate

EXCLUSIVE: In 2021, one councillor seeking to be chosen as her party’s candidate for elected Mayor ran a campaign with the slogan: ‘I can do more for the people I care about’. What might be her catchphrase be in 2025? … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Broad Green, Croydon Council, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Tony Newman, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Passengers’ petition makes call for return to the old Route 166

Residents in Coulsdon and Purley have been echoing legendary rocker Chuck Berry, sort of, by demanding that Transport for London “take the highway that’s the best” (for passengers), and let them get their kicks on the old-style route 166. It … Continue reading

Posted in Community associations, Coulsdon, Coulsdon East, Coulsdon Town, Coulsdon West Residents' Association, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Ian Parker, Purley, Rowenna Davis, TfL, Transport, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

They voted to raise your Council Tax, then to increase their pay

TOWN HALL SKETCH: Things don’t sound too good in the Chamber these days, and it is not just because the council has hired a cheaper contractor for its audio system. As tempers frayed at the most important meeting of the … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Amy Foster, Avril Slipper, Callton Young, Christopher Herman, Claire Bonham, Council Tax, Croydon Carers, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Esther Sutton, Ian Parker, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Kola Agboola, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel, Rowenna Davis, Sean Fitzsimons, Section 114 notice, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Cash-strapped council spends £5m on 4,000 shiny new laptops

CROYDON IN CRISIS: While the council goes cap-in-hand to the government for another bail-out, Fisher’s Folly has been taking delivery of 4,000 shiny new laptops for staff. As political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, reports, opposition councillors are fuming The bright and … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Mayor Perry challenged over broken promises in Wandle Park

Locals in Waddon and Broad Green are challenging the Croydon Mayor to keep his promise to re-open the café in Wandle Park. Wandle Park, wedged in alongside railway and tram tracks, on the western edge of the borough close to … Continue reading

Posted in Broad Green, Business, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Friends of Wandle Park, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Waddon, Wandle Park | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments