Tag Archives: 15% Council Tax hike

#BINMAGEDDON: Perry sneaks out charges for wheelie bins

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Having dumped his secret plan to charge a £5 admin fee for new bins, now the borough’s Tory Mayor is charging residents up to £39 for replacement wheelies. By our Town Hall reporter, SANDRA STEAD Jason Perry, … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Refuse collection, Veolia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Mayor coming under pressure to sack council CEO Kerswell

EXCLUSIVE: With no real solution in sight, and the appointment of government Commissioners getting ever closer, sending patronising memos to Whitehall seeking to blame everyone but herself probably wasn’t the shrewdest move by the £204,000 per year council chief. By … Continue reading

Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Poor Perry shuffles his papers but can’t find any answers

TOWN HALL SKETCH: At the first council cabinet meeting for three months, Croydon’s Tory Mayor stamped his feet and screamed in self-pity, and then admitted that he can’t fix the finances. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Jason Perry stood up, … Continue reading

Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Leila Ben-Hassel, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

‘Solution to restoring sustainability lies outside our control’

Here is the full text of Mayor Jason Perry’s letter to Secretary of State Angela Rayner, in response to the announcement that the government is ‘minded’ to send in Commissioners to manage Croydon’s ‘runaway’ finances I am writing in response … Continue reading

Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 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

Business as usual for Kerswell – but remember to bring a pen!

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Like the captain of the Titanic, but she hasn’t realised we’ve hit the iceberg’. Council managers were ordered to attend briefing sessions on the chief exec’s pet project, Future Croydon, even though it looks doomed to be junked by … Continue reading

Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Ministry planning one-year stay in Croydon for Commissioners

EXCLUSIVE: Buried in the avalanche of emergency documents issued around the government’s statement on the mismanagement of the council was a timetable for the proposed intervention. By STEVEN DOWNES Commissioners could be in place in Croydon for less than a … Continue reading

Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Kerswell rejects government decision in Q&A to council staff

EXCLUSIVE: The day after Jim McMahon, the local government minister, announced plans that could see Commissioners appointed to run Croydon, the £204,000 per year CEO issued a lengthy note defending her position. Our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE, obtained the … Continue reading

Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 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

Radical change is overdue at council says LibDem Howard

A former Army bomb disposal expert who will be leading the Liberal Democrats’ election efforts in 2026 says Croydon’s residents are ‘fed up with paying more and getting less’ Richard Howard, the LibDems’ candidate for Mayor of Croydon in 2026, … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Howard, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Mayor Perry: ‘Residents of Croydon have felt enough pain’

The Mayor who has hiked your Council Tax by 27% in just two years today tried to claim that he has the Town Hall finances under control and that no one had raised any concerns about soaring levels of borrowing … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Kerswell admits that council bail-outs are ‘not sustainable’

Crisis? What crisis? Council’s £204,000 per year chief exec spent last night at a glitzy awards event in Mayfair, with the government set to announce it would be sending in Commissioners to run the borough Back from a night out … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Borrowing plan would lead to council’s ‘collapse’ says report

The government-appointed improvement panel recommended intervention by Commissioners after the cash-strapped council laid out ‘impossible’ plans for additional borrowing The “runaway position of the council’s finances” and a plan for continued bail-outs from central government had created “an impossible position”, … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

McMahon acts after serious concerns on ‘aspects of leadership’

‘The deteriorating financial position, which is not being gripped and tackled adequately by the council, is reaching a “financial crisis”.’ Here is the full written statement to the House of Commons today from Jim McMahon, the local government minister I … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Government sends in Commissioners to run Croydon Council

After more than four years of ‘soft-touch’ intervention with a so-called ‘improvement panel’, today Whitehall mandarins lost patience with Mayor Jason Perry and CEO Katherine Kerswell’s poor management of Croydon Council. By STEVEN DOWNES Jim McMahon, Labour’s minister for local … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

What will sending in Commissioners mean for our council?

Government-appointed bureaucrats taking over the running of local level services happens only in ‘very exceptional circumstances and very much as a last resort’ according to Whitehall guidance Since 2020, following Croydon’s first Section 114 Notice issued that November, a number … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Minister McMahon snubs Croydon Mayor over ‘urgent’ meeting

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Keir Starmer’s new government seems in no rush to deal with the deep-seated problems caused by 14 years of austerity inflicted on local councils, as Jason Perry’s plea for an urgent meeting is given a cold shoulder … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Younger people have had their futures sold down the river

CROYDON ELECTION QUESTIONS For this General Election, Inside Croydon has been offering a platform to candidates from across the political spectrum, from across the borough’s four constituencies. Much the same questions, their answers published at length. Our first interview is … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Brick by Brick, Claire Bonham, Council Tax, Croydon parks, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Housing, London-wide issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Two weeks early and most candidates are conceding defeat

ELECTION SKETCH: As other parties’ candidates in Croydon East have admitted they will lose come July 4, Labour’s shoo-in as a new MP calls her party’s bankrupting of the borough and its part in illegal hacking as ‘a load of … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Andrew Pelling, Croydon East, Jason Cummings, Ken Towl, Natasha Irons, Peter Underwood | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Council chief Kerswell has doubled up on £140,000+ executives

CROYDON IN CRISIS: While more than 400 frontline jobs have been axed since 2020, the executive suite in Fisher’s Folly has barely been touched. But the council CEO is spending even more on ‘cost-cutting’ consultants. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Katherine … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

More than 2,500 sign petition to save Sanderstead Library

A petition to keep Sanderstead Library open has attracted more than 2,500 signatures. Sanderstead is one of four libraries earmarked for closure as part of Mayor Jason Perry’s plans to “reorganise” Croydon’s library service. The petition demands that Croydon Council … Continue reading

Posted in Broad Green, Community associations, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Libraries, Old Coulsdon, Sanderstead, Sanderstead Residents Association, Shirley North, Shirley South | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NUTS! Croydon Labour blunders into new cover-up shock

Embroiled in a series of controversies, the latest being the cover-up of the vote rigging for their own Croydon East parliamentary selection, the local Labour Party blundered into a cover-up of a different sort in Coulsdon on Saturday. And no, … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, 2024 London elections, Andrew Price, Ben Taylor, Carole Bonner, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Croydon Central, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Jason Cummings, Jess Hammersley-Rich, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Natasha Irons, Park Hill and Whitgift, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Susan Hall, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

There’s good reason politicians are more unpopular than ever

After a week of two budget debates, one in the House of Commons, one at Croydon Town Hall, ANDREW FISHER reckons it is time that our politicians stopped pretending… British politics are in a dire state, nationally and locally, as … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Fisher, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments