Multiple-year settlements for councils in England and an end to the postcode lottery that has been local authority funding from Whitehall, as £78bn is allocated in effort to ‘end deprivation’. By STEVEN DOWNES
‘At last!:’ Labour candidate Rowenna Davis’s version of #FundCroydonFairly has helped nudge government into a better settlement
Croydon Council will receive an extra £40million each year for the next three years in its annual grant from central government it was announced today.
The news was made in a parliamentary statement in the House of Commons just before 3pm by Alison McGovern, the Minister of State for local government.
The confirmation was greeted with a jubilant “At last!” from Rowenna Davis, Labour’s candidate for Croydon Mayor next May.
Today’s announcement means a 28% increase in Croydon Council’s funding from central government. The extra £40million in 2026-2027 is more than double the additional money that Croydon’s number-crunchers had anticipated when conducting preliminary budget work just last month. Continue reading
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Latest indications across local government finances are that minister Steve Reed is going to have to provide so much exceptional financial support in 2026 that it won’t be ‘exceptional’ any longer. By STEVEN DOWNES
CROYDON CHRONICLE: The Crown on North End, demolished in 1950, was a coaching inn with a history that stretched back 500 years, and whose many landlords included Jack Martin, a bare-knuckle boxer from the Regency era whose fights would attract thousands of spectators.
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 pay-off. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES
So the news that the borough’s archives service has received a £10,000 grant to help research a special project has been warmly greeted by the Museum of Croydon.
It’s the time of year when a little bit of kindness can go a long way. With Croydon’s second mayoral election now little more than four months away, households across Croydon have the opportunity to offer a poignant symbol to Jason Perry.
Keeping bus fares across the capital at £1.75 is being seen at City Hall as an “emergency cost of living measure”, as fares on London’s Tube network, Docklands Light Railway, London Overground and Elizabeth line were confirmed as increasing by above-inflation 5.8% from March.
Nationally, the number of patients in hospital with influenza has risen more than 50% in the past week.
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Addiscombe campaigner and former councillor JERRY FITZPATRICK, says that after a 13-year wait, it time for some answers and honesty from Network Rail and the Croydon Mayor about East Croydon Station
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.
There’s a bewildering choice of wines on offer this festive season. Croydon wine expert ROZ LAWSON offers her best picks from local supermarket shelves – all priced at £10 or less, and starting with a Champagne 
This Champagne from Lidl is highlighted as a “Best Buy” and “Great Value” in a Which? review of supermarket fizz. It is a Champagne – produced in the Champagne region by the traditional method (with the second fermentation in the bottle, giving it fizz and flavour).
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Careless comments made at a public meeting by the Tory Mayor over LTNs – Low Traffic Neighbourhoods – have already cost the borough’s residents dearly.
German supermarket chain Lidl has been trying to get consent to add Warlingham to their list of sites across the country. But they have been rejected at every turn.
