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Tag Archives: Hamida Ali
Ali announces Labour U-turn over staging of mayor referendum
Our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, on the latest potentially costly change in position performed by the cash-strapped council The council’s Labour leadership today confirmed a massive U-turn on its previous opposition to having a referendum for a directly-elected mayor – … Continue reading
Council paid £1m compensation for unfinished Fairfield Halls
EXCLUSIVE: A year-long investigation has uncovered multi-million-pound payments by the council on its arts centre, largely because of the bungled refurbishment managed by Brick by Brick. And it is now suggested some payments may have been unlawful. By STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading
We’re Sorry We Haven’t A Clue: the cruellest months of 2020
The last four months of last year saw the Labour-run council implode, with resignations, reshuffles and a controversial golden handshake of £440,000 for the chief exec. Editor STEVEN DOWNES rounds off our review of the past year SEPTEMBER Covid-19 hadn’t … Continue reading
Leader of crisis-hit council has kept her job at City Hall
EXCLUSIVE: While others in the council’s leadership have left employment to better focus on the crises at the Town Hall, Hamida Ali has opted for a spot of unpaid leave from her role at the GLA. By STEVEN DOWNES If … Continue reading
Council hands Jenrick a begging letter asking for £150m
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council’s old-new leader faces an agonising wait – and probably another Section 114 notice by December 23 – as Whitehall ponders over a multi-million-pound loan. By KEN LEE, our Town Hall reporter Croydon’s Labour-run Council confirmed … Continue reading
Councillors agree to cut their allowances by £300,000 per year
WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, reports on how Town Hall figures have finally got round to making their own ‘symbolic’ contribution to the borough’s financial crisis which they helped to create Six months after the financial distress signals went up from … Continue reading
The Audit Report: Newman’s £100m gamble with your money
CROYDON IN CRISIS: There’s growing public demand for some degree of accountability over the council’s financial collapse, and there’s mounting evidence that the former leader of the council and his mates broke rules to push through his pet policies. By … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Paul Scott, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
7 Comments
Council survey on cuts tries to pass the buck to residents
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The people running the borough, whether executive staff on sky-high salaries or elected councillors, have a well-earned reputation for failing to listen to the people they are supposed to serve. So why should residents expect any difference … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Brick by Brick, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Katherine Kerswell, Libraries, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, SEND
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, S114, Section 114
16 Comments
Council sneaks out news of £10,000 business covid grants
Croydon businesses forced to close for the second covid-19 lockdown have until Dec 31 to apply for their share of £7.7m government grant There may be a recruitment freeze at Fisher’s Folly, but that hasn’t prevented Hamida Ali, the old-new … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Labour, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor, Sadiq Khan
6 Comments
Strange Cummings and goings as protests begin over library
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The battle has begun to save the borough’s libraries, under threat because of the council’s financial collapse. GENE BRODIE reports from yesterday’s well-attended protest in South Norwood More than 100 residents, including many parents with youngsters in … Continue reading
Posted in Clive Fraser, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jane Avis, Libraries, Patsy Cummings, Paul Scott, Section 114 notice, South Norwood, Tony Newman, Woodside
Tagged Brick by Brick, Clive Fraser, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jane Avis, Labour, London, London Assembly, London Borough of Croydon, Patsy Cummings, Paul Scott, S114, Section 114, South Norwood, South Norwood Library, Tony Newman, Woodside
2 Comments
Labour agree to hold mayoral referendum in October 2021
EXCLUSIVE: Council leader votes for a ballot that could cost as much as £1m, as agreement is finally reached to listen to the wishes of 20,000 Croydon residents. By STEVEN DOWNES The Labour group which controls Croydon Town Hall has … Continue reading
Car crash! Feltz radio interview has Ali struggling for answers
Hear the painful 20-minute interview on local radio that left Croydon’s council leader feeling exposed for her part in all the decisions that led to the collapse of the Town Hall finances Hamida Ali, the new-old leader of Croydon Council, … Continue reading
Lacey still spinning as he hangs on to his job at Brick by Brick
It is not only the former council chief exec who has shown unconcealed contempt for the borough’s residents. Now, as our housing correspondent BARRATT HOLMES reports, the discredited head of the council-owned builders is pushing his luck, too Colm Lacey … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Jane Avis, Leila Ben-Hassel, Section 114 notice, Stuart King
Tagged Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Labour, Leila Ben-Hassel, London Borough of Croydon, S114, Section 114, STUART KING, Tory
17 Comments
Negrini missing from list of finance investigation interviewees
EXCLUSIVE: The former CEO, who presided over a £500m increase in the borough’s debts in just three years, may avoid being questioned about the financial collapse of the council. By STEVEN DOWNES Jo Negrini, the council official who led Croydon … Continue reading
‘Mistakes will be made’ warn staff after latest round of cuts
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Libraries to close, refuse dumps to close, while elderly, disabled and mental health services are to be cut. Even buses for SEND schoolchildren face the axe. Yet the council’s ‘renewal plan’ will still spend £37m more in … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Katherine Kerswell, Libraries, Refuse collection, Sarah Hayward, Section 114 notice
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Renewal Plan, Hamida Ali, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, S114, Sarah Hayward, Section 114
5 Comments
The late, late show: scrutiny sees anger and hears of bullying
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council is ‘on a journey’, according to the interim chief executive, who clung firmly to platitudes and clichés at her first scrutiny committee this week. But will it all be just ‘words, words, words’, as a … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Jo Negrini, Joy Prince, Katherine Kerswell, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Sean Fitzsimons, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman, Uncategorized
Tagged Alison Butler, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Jo Negrini, Joy Prince, Labour, Leila Ben-Hassel, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, S114, Sean Fitzsimons, Section 114, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
10 Comments
Kerswell tries to gag council staff over Section 114 crisis
Council staff have been ordered not to read or talk to Inside Croydon. Town Hall reporter KEN LEE on how the council’s £192,000 per year CEO has quickly adopted the bunker mentality of her discredited predecessor Katherine Kerswell has been … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, S114, Section 114, Tony Newman
10 Comments
Croydon in Crisis: The questions the council refuses to answer
Frontline council staff, having already this year been put through one “reorganisation” – meaning more than 400 job cuts – now believe that there are more jobs to be axed. Seeking reassurance, these are just some of the questions which … Continue reading
Unison warns Kerswell not to play blame game with workers
‘Our members did not cause this mess… our members did not approach the council’s finances with “corporate blindness”.’ Unions are gearing up for a battle to protect frontline jobs, WALTER CRONXITE reports Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s interim CEO, has been put … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Laura O'Hara, London Borough of Croydon, S114, Section 114, Unison, Unite the Union
10 Comments
‘One of the biggest casualties of council crisis is our trust’
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Residents, such as New Addington’s SCOTT AINSWORTH-PAYNE (pictured right), have been shocked at some of the revelations coming out of the council over the last couple of weeks I am flabbergasted by the state of things. Croydon contains … Continue reading
Newman should be chucked out of Labour, say activists
‘It’s time to clean things up. It’s time for the truth to be told,’ according to one Labour councillor. WALTER CRONXITE, our political editor, on the growing calls for the council’s discredited former leaders to stand down immediately Tony Newman, … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Chris Philp MP, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Croydon South, Hamida Ali, Jamie Audsley, Paul Scott, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Chris Philp MP, Croydon, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Croydon South, Hamida Ali, Jason Perry, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman
10 Comments
Costs of covid-19 not the cause of financial collapse, says Ali
CROYDON IN CRISIS: After three weeks in the job, Hamida Ali admits that it was the Labour administration’s own errors, and not extra spending on coronavirus, that has led to the issue of the Section 114 notice. By KEN LEE, … Continue reading
Croydon In Crisis: Council forced to declare itself bankrupt
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Devastating blow’ for the borough as it has issued a Section 114 notice, making it the first local authority in London for two decades to admit it has gone bust. By STEVEN DOWNES Croydon Council’s finance director, Lisa Taylor, … Continue reading
Extraordinary: council to stage another emergency meeting
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council is to stage its third ‘extraordinary meeting’ in six weeks next week, as the auditors’ Report in the Public Interest is up for discussion. The increase in meetings may signal a change in approach, reports … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Tony Newman
4 Comments
