Category Archives: West Thornton

Local Labour members angry at ‘travesty’ of selection process

Uncharacteristic ‘openness’ from the Labour Party exposes their latest sham selection process, with candidates for next year’s local elections being named without grassroots members in most wards getting any say at all. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The fix is in. … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Addiscombe East, Alisa Flemming, Amy Foster, Appu Srinivasan, Bensham Manor, Brigitte Graham, Catherine Wilson, Chrishni Reshekaron, Christopher Herman, Croydon East, Croydon West, Enid Mollyneaux, Eunice O'Dame, Fairfield, Janet Campbell, Jeet Bains, Jess Hammersley-Rich, John Wentworth, Karen Jewitt, Leila Ben-Hassel, Louis Carserides, Maddie Henson, Matt Griffiths, Mohammed Islam, Natasha Irons, Norbury, Norbury Park, Patsy Cummings, Rowenna Davis, Sarah Jones MP, Selhurst, South Norwood, Stella Nabukeera, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Stuart King, Thornton Heath, Waddon, West Thornton, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Carserides gets new job as a lobbyist offering inside influence

Who does your local councillor really represent? It’s a reasonable question for all residents to ask, particularly those in South Norwood. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Just who does Labour councillor Louis Carserides represent? It’s not an unreasonable question for … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Louis Carserides, South Norwood, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Stuart King, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 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

The Toss-cars 2025: We name Croydon’s laziest councillors

It’s Inside Croydon’s annual round-up of official figures which show which of our 70 elected councillors have been asking the most questions. And which councillors need to be seriously questioned, after they’ve effectively given a grand ‘up yours’ to the … Continue reading

Posted in Adele Benson, Alisa Flemming, Brigitte Graham, Callton Young, Clive Fraser, Croydon Council, Fatima Zaman, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Norbury Park, Richard Chatterjee, Scott Roche, Sherwan Chowdhury, Shirley North, Shirley South, Tamar Barrett (was Nwafor), Tony Pearson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

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

Labour councillors do a runner over investments in Israeli arms

A ‘mystery illness’ swept through the ranks of elected representatives at the weekend, just when a campaign group was about to pay them a visit in Thornton Heath All three of Thornton Heath’s Labour councillors were overcome by an outbreak … Continue reading

Posted in Callton Young, Croydon Council, Karen Jewitt, Tamar Barrett (was Nwafor), Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Tory Mayor’s ‘Our Croydon’ printed with £35k of YOUR money

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Jason Perry has been accused of misusing public money on a thinly-disguised propaganda rag to boost his election chances. But there’s also serious questions about how the project was ever passed by the government’s ‘improvement panel’. EXCLUSIVE … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Local media, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stuart King, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 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

Protests mount as Perry rejects petitions with 5,000 signatures

CROYDON IN CRISIS: MP Natasha Irons says that ‘democracy is being undermined by Croydon Council’, as the Conservative-controlled authority is refusing to debate the situation at the carers’ centre on George Street and the on-off-on-again sale of listed building Heathfield … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Carers First, Community associations, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Heathfield House, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Natasha Irons, Ria Patel, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Gone missing: Mayor ducks Town Hall cabinet for three months

EXCLUSIVE: Key public meetings have been cancelled, without any explanation, as Jason Perry is accused of wanting to run the borough by Trump-style edict. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Jason Perry, the Mayor of  a borough that is £1.4billion in … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Council, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel, Section 114 notice, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Council invests £16m in companies ‘complicit in war crimes’

A community group is planning a protest outside the Town Hall tomorrow morning, to bring further attention to how Croydon Labour is backing the Tories over holding investments in companies that have been arming the Israeli military during its genocidal … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Callton Young, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 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

Labour accuse Perry of ‘mismanagement’ of Town Hall finances

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Opposition councillors say residents will be ‘horrified’ by Tory Mayor’s request to government for ‘a staggering’ £136million bail-out Pay more. Get less. That was the reaction from Croydon Labour this morning in response to Tory Mayor Jason … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

MP Reed claims those who left borough broke ‘have now gone’

WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, checks the ‘facts’ where other local news outlets dare not look Steve Reed OBE, the MP who was Labour’s front bench spokesperson on local government at the time that the council for the area he is … Continue reading

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon North, David Evans, Environment, Fairfield Halls, Lambeth Council, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Sean Fitzsimons, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Stuart Collins, Stuart King, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Labour back Conservatives on fossil fuel and arms investments

KEN LEE reports from the final full meeting of the council this year Ethics and morals are just too expensive for Croydon’s Conservative and Labour councillors. Two petitions were submitted to Wednesday night’s council meeting calling on the Mayor to … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Callton Young, Climate Crisis Commission, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Environment, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Ria Patel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Manchester Mayor can’t provide answers to Croydon problems

WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, on the early start to the 2026 local election campaign Croydon’s 2026 mayoral election campaign is well and truly underway – and the Labour Party has not even started its candidate selection process yet. In a … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Council Tax, Croydon Council, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice, Stuart King, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mayor Perry will hike Council Tax by more than 5% if allowed

CROYDON IN CRISIS: In a trick of political deviousness, Chancellor Rachel Reeves might be able to claim she has not broken a manifesto commitment while Croydon’s Mayor will keep to his ‘pledge’. But ordinary residents will all end up paying … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Jane West, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Driver charged by police after Mitcham Road gas mains crash

A man has been charged with drink driving and driving without due care and attention after police were called to the scene of a car crash on Mitcham Road in the early hours of yesterday morning. The vehicle’s collision ruptured … Continue reading

Posted in London Fire Brigade, Policing, West Thornton | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Gas leak evacuation sees residents furious at Croydon Council

Residents from Wingate Crescent, Moys Close and other roads near Mitcham Common were subject to an emergency evacuation in the early hours of this morning, after a vehicle swerved off the A236 main road and crashed into a trench that … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, West Thornton | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

More than 200 families split up by council’s housing department

CROYDON IN CRISIS: As it struggles to find suitable accommodation for the borough’s homeless families, official figures show that the council has split up one family placed in temporary accommodation for 12 years. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Official council figures, … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Stuart King, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Splash and purge: just another five weeks of campaigning to go

It started with a damp squib, but as the days have passed, the campaign has got steadily murkier. ANDREW FISHER assesses the first week of the 2024 General Election A week ago, in a wet Downing Street, Rishi Sunak, the … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Andrew Fisher, Ben Taylor, Chris Philp MP, Chrishni Reshekaron, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Jess Hammersley-Rich, Natasha Irons, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, West Thornton, Woodside | 1 Comment

Reigate, Kingston, Sutton: the seats facing ‘The Croydon Effect’

In the second part of our General Election Special, WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, casts his expert eye further afield, to Sutton and Bromley, and even into the Surrey stockbroker belt Compared with Croydon, it’s an entirely different political landscape in … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Bobby Dean, Bromley Council, Chrishni Reshekaron, David Campanale, Elliot Colburn, Kingston, Luke Taylor MP, Mario Creatura, Paul Scully MP, Reigate and Banstead Council, Sutton and Cheam, Tom Drummond | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments