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Tag Archives: Hamida Ali
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 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Corporate directors, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Executive directors, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Regina Road, Tony Newman, Tory
6 Comments
Wanted: ‘storyteller’ to spin CEO Kerswell’s recruitment binge
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘History,’ said Marx (Karl, not Groucho), ‘repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce.’ At our cash-strapped council, we appear to have arrived at the farcical stage. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES How good is your “story-telling”? £50,000 … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Corporate directors, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Executive directors, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Regina Road, Tony Newman, Tory
8 Comments
Tories club together to agree special service award for Ali
The Mayor of Croydon was elected a year ago on a promise to bring to account those responsible for bankrupting the borough. Tomorrow night he will attend a Town Hall ceremony where one of Newman’s Numpties will be handed an … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman, Woodside
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Collective corporate blindness, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Tony Newman, Tory
11 Comments
Mayor Perry to spend thousands on certificates for old mates
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The Conservatives at the cash-strapped council are still wasting public money when it comes to doling out meaningless bits of ceremonial tat to their mates. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor Mayor Jason Perry, who earlier in the … Continue reading
Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Badsha Quadir, Croydon Council, Jan Buttinger, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Louisa Woodley, Mayor Jason Perry, Pat Clouder, Pat Ryan, Paul Scott, Shafi Khan, Simon Hall, Steve Hollands, Steve O'Connell, Tim Pollard, Toni Letts, Tony Newman, Tony Pearson, Vidhi Mohan
Tagged Alderman, Alderwoman, Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jane Avis, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Tony Newman, Tory
5 Comments
Councillors line up Stormzy for the Freedom of the Borough
More dither and delay by our cash-strapped council, after they are forced to check whether the global superstar rapper will accept a civic honour. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon’s Labour councillors want to give Stormzy the Freedom of the Borough. … Continue reading
Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Badsha Quadir, Bernadette Khan, Croydon Council, Gerry Ryan, Helen Pollard, Jane Avis, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Louisa Woodley, Maggie Mansell, Mayor Jason Perry, Pat Clouder, Paul Scott, Shafi Khan, Simon Hall, Simon Hoar, Steve Hollands, Steve O'Connell, Tim Pollard, Toni Letts, Tony Newman, Vidhi Mohan
Tagged Alderman, Alderwoman, Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Merah Louise Smith, Paul Scott, Simon Hall, Stormzy, Tony Newman, Tory
6 Comments
#PennReport: No referrals sent to staff’s professional bodies
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Recommendations for action made by auditors, a Local Government Association report and two sets of legal experts have not been acted on by the current CEO. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Confidential legal advice provided to Croydon Council … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Stuart King, The Penn Report
Tagged #PennReport, Brick by Brick, Browne Jacobson, CIPFA, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jane Mulcahy KC, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Shifa Mustafa, Solicitors Regulation Authority, STUART KING, The Penn Report
7 Comments
‘Better than evens’ chance of winning Negrini legal case
CROYDON IN CRISIS: After doing their utmost for almost two years to suppress the findings and recommendations of the Penn Report investigation into the council’s financial collapse, Katherine Kerswell’s blundering local authority managed to publish two confidential legal reports on … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Stuart King, The Penn Report
Tagged #PennReport, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jane Mulcahy KC, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Shifa Mustafa, STUART KING, The Penn Report
13 Comments
Scott and Butler lined up to receive council service award
Councillors who presided over Croydon’s financial ruin could soon be honoured by the very borough they helped bankrupt, thanks to the council’s flawed constitution. By Town Hall correspondent, KEN LEE Tony Newman, Alison Butler, Paul Scott, Simon Hall and other … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Bernadette Khan, Croydon Council, Donald Speakman, Hamida Ali, Helen Pollard, Mark Watson, Mayor Jason Perry, Pat Clouder, Paul Scott, Paul Smith, Simon Hall, Steve O'Connell, Stuart King, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman
Tagged Alderman, Alderwoman, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mark Watson, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Simon Hall, STUART KING, Tony Newman
9 Comments
‘No records’ after council hired Starmer ally to advise leader
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mystery surrounds how a Labour figure with connections to David Evans was recruited to provide political advice when Hamida Ali took charge of Croydon Council – because no one kept any records. Our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Croydon Council, Croydon North, David Evans, Jo Negrini, Julian Ellerby, Katherine Kerswell, Sarah Hayward, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman
Tagged #LabourFiles, #TheLabourFiles, Alison Butler, Croydon, Croydon Council, David Evans, Hamida Ali, Imogen Walker, Katherine Kerswell, Keir Starmer, Labour, Labour Files, Morgan McSweeney, Sandwell Council, Tony Newman
4 Comments
Labour’s Town Hall group in rush to crown King as new leader
WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, on the latest behind-the-scenes moves by some of those who helped bankrupt the council The Labour group at the council, now reduced to 34 councillors, is moving swiftly to anoint Stuart King as their new leader. … Continue reading
Posted in Alisa Flemming, Callton Young, Hamida Ali, Joy Prince, Manju Shahul Hameed, Paul Scott, Stuart Collins, Stuart King, Tony Newman, Val Shawcross
Tagged Alisa Flemming, Callton Young, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Fairfield, Hamida Ali, Manju Shahul Hameed, New Addington, Stuart Collins, STUART KING, Tony Newman, Val Shawcross
3 Comments
This is the stark human cost of the borough going bankrupt
CROYDON IN CRISIS: A mum of six children is facing destitution after the council has made her family more than £200 per month worse off by cutting her Council Tax Support and failing to provide its promised hardship scheme. EXCLUSIVE … Continue reading
More Town Hall secrecy as auditors question Negrini’s pay-off
CROYDON IN CRISIS: A behind-closed-doors meeting this morning discussed the Labour leadership’s controversial £437,000 golden handshake to the ex-CEO, and recommendations over the £67m spent on the Fairfield Halls. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Grant Thornton, the council’s official auditors, have … Continue reading
Posted in Callton Young, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Joy Prince, Katherine Kerswell, Lynne Hale, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Stuart King, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon Council, Grant Thornton, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Penn, RIPI, Simon Hall, STUART KING, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
8 Comments
Secret report into wrong-doing at council still kept under wraps
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Eighteen months after an investigation into how the council’s finances collapsed, the report into the affair – which prompted the resignation of the council leader and four execs – remains unpublished. And the council CEO intends keeping … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Joy Prince, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Lynne Hale, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Joy Prince, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Lynne Hale, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
13 Comments
Even the Town Hall meetings don’t work at bankrupt council
In the time-honoured words of EJ Thribb, ‘And so farewell then…’. As many as 35 of the borough’s 70 councillors who were elected in 2018 won’t be Town Hall regulars after the May 5 elections. Political Editor WALTER CONXITE bids … Continue reading
Posted in 2022 council elections, Andrew Pelling, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Hamida Ali, Stephen Mann, Tony Newman
Tagged Andrew Pelling, Conservative, Covid-19, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Hamida Ali, Labour, Stephen Mann, Tony Newman, Tory
6 Comments
One year on, Hamida Ali’s latest apologies on Regina Road
‘To improve the conditions in people’s homes, the tenants have to pay for it… How is that fair?’ ITV News’ DANIEL HEWITT last night broadcast a follow-up to the investigation into conditions in council flats in South Norwood which caused … Continue reading
Council’s Ministry of Truth forced to pull housing press release
CROYDON IN CRISIS: On the first anniversary of the broadcast of the TV news report that shocked the nation, the council has been forced to pull a press release which tried to misrepresent the findings of the independent housing improvement … Continue reading
‘It’s an utter joke’: councillors unhappy at selection stitch-ups
Our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, reports on the brinkmanship taking place in the local Labour Party over controversial reselections With just seven days left before the official opening of nominations for all candidates for the local elections, there remain two … Continue reading
Posted in 2022 council elections, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, David Evans, Hamida Ali, Maddie Henson, Muhammad Ali, Pat Ryan, Patsy Cummings, Paul Scott, South Norwood, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman, Waddon, Woodside
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon North, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Hamida Ali, Labour, Pat Ryan, Patsy Cummings, Paul Scott, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman, Tory, Woodside
2 Comments
Brick by Brick boss got paid while setting up own business
CROYDON IN CRISIS: An investigation by this website has discovered that Colm Lacey set up his own personal consultancy company while he was still a paid employee of the council-owned housing developer. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Colm Lacey registered his … Continue reading
Council leader Ali announces she won’t seek re-election in May
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Tony Newman’s protégé has changed her mind about standing as a councillor in the forthcoming Town Hall elections. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Hamida Ali, the leader of Croydon’s cash-strapped, Labour-controlled council since October 2020, is to stand … Continue reading
Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman, Val Shawcross, Woodside
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Regina Road, South Norwood, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman
3 Comments
Kerswell dismisses ‘missing’ £73m as ‘accounting problem’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council chief exec relying on advice from veteran lawyer to overcome auditors’ objections to misuse of housing money. By STEVEN DOWNES Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s £192,000 per year chief executive, and Hamida Ali, the council leader, can be … Continue reading
Council looks to second postponement of budget meeting
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Town Hall chiefs still trying to negotiate another multi-million-pound government bail-out, with time running out to issue 136,000 Council Tax notices. By STEVEN DOWNES The council is on the brink of crashing into bankruptcy, unable to set … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Business, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Richard Ennis, Tony McArdle
Tagged Council Tax, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Michael Gove, Tony McArdle
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Crisis-hit council hires fourth housing director in a year
Croydon Council has announced the appointment of Susmita Sen to the role of corporate director of housing. Recruitment ads for the post at the cash-strapped local authority offered a salary of up to £150,547. Sen is the fourth top exec … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Knight, Croydon Council, David Padfield, Hamida Ali, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, South Norwood, Susmita Sen
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Housing Revenue Account, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Regina Road, Social Housing Regulator, South Norwood, Susmita Sen
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Labour group’s response to £73m scandal? Sack the auditors!
CROYDON LABOUR IN CRISIS: Having been caught out with another multi-million-pound scandal, the councillors who have been running the Town Hall for the past eight years have now decided to pass the buck to accountants Grant Thornton. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Business, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Karen Jewitt, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Hamida Ali, Karen Jewitt, Labour, Paul Scott, RIPI, Sarah Ironmonger, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
7 Comments
