By applying ’emergency measures’ during the pandemic crisis, the council leader has taken on the role of an unelected mayor, as KEN LEE reports

From her office in Fisher’s Folly, Jo Negrini can reflect on her power grab from councillors in the Town Hall
Croydon’s elected councillors were told by email on Tuesday night that they will have little or no role to play in Town Hall decision-making for the duration of the coronavirus emergency.
Don’t expect any outcry over this apparent affront to democracy, though: just like Premier League footballers, the borough’s 70 councillors will remain on full pay even though they have even fewer meetings to turn up for than usual.
Instead of regular council, cabinet and committee meetings, Tony Newman, the council leader, and his trusted chief executive, Jo “We’re Not Stupid” Negrini, have invested themselves with a set of executive powers that will allow them to sign-off on all sorts of issues without any public forum or debate by councillors.
It will also see Negrini able to take sole charge of up-coming planning applications – potentially including a raft of applications from council-owned Brick by Brick. Continue reading
























