Tag Archives: Marina Ahmad

Food bank use up 74% in 5 years as London faces winter crisis

The need for food banks is still well above what it was before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and is a shocking 74per cent higher than it was in 2016, according to the latest figures from charity the Trussell … Continue reading

Posted in Charity, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

London’s Living Wage for poorest paid set to rise to £11.05ph

At least 100,000 of the poorest-paid Londoners are about the get a pay rise, after the Living Wage Foundation announced that the London Living Wage should rise to £11.05 per hour. The good news needs to be tempered slightly by … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Tory Chancellor scores an own goal with London-lite Budget

Rishi Sunak took the capital for granted in his Budget speech yesterday, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said, and in doing so the Tory Chancellor scored an own goal for the nation’s economic recovery. Sunak allocated nearly £7billion to … Continue reading

Posted in Housing, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, TfL, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘Callous’ Universal Credit cuts are about to hit 1m Londoners

While Croydon Labour plans on cuts of up to £29 per week in Council Tax benefits for tens of thousands of the poorest households in the borough, the party’s politicians at City Hall have been describing the Tory government’s £25 … Continue reading

Posted in London Assembly, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Assembly Member calls for minimum wage rise to £10.85/hr

A London Assembly Member has today called on the government not only to make the £20 Universal Credit uplift permanent but also to increase urgently the minimum wage to a real London living wage of £10.85 an hour. Marina Ahmad, … Continue reading

Posted in London Assembly, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Croydon riots 10 years on: A decade of missed opportunity

Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the Croydon riots, an outbreak of disorder that followed similar violence elsewhere in the capital that week in August 2011. Here, local lawyer and community activist MARINA AHMAD says that the government has failed … Continue reading

Posted in Crime, Croydon 8/8, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Garratt doubles victory margin as he takes City Hall seat

NOT-SO-SPECIAL ELECTION SPECIAL: Labour has slipped back in the London Assembly voting, with its worst result in Croydon and Sutton for 13 years. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor Neil “Father Jack” Garratt was named on Saturday as Croydon and Sutton’s … Continue reading

Posted in 2021 London elections, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad, Mayor of London, Neil Garratt, Patsy Cummings, Sadiq Khan, Shaun Bailey, South Norwood, Sutton Council | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Police warn minorities to ‘stay vigilant’ against hate crimes

Muslims and other minority groups in Croydon have been warned by the police to “stay vigilant” and report hate crime following a spike of racist attacks after the Leave result in last week’s EU Referendum. The Muslim Association of Croydon … Continue reading

Posted in 2016 EU referendum, Andy Tarrant, Church and religions, Community associations, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad, Policing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Silent Steve’ is back on gravy train thanks to Sutton votes

Steve O’Connell, a former mortgage salesman (he quit that job when he found the tax-payer paid more generously), has got his pension pot sorted, with £220,000 guaranteed income for the next four years, as the results from the London Assembly … Continue reading

Posted in 2016 London elections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

In low-key election, the Tories’ invisible man should win

Two years ago, WALTER CRONXITE correctly predicted the 40/30 seat result in the Croydon Council elections. Last year, he said Croydon Central was “too close to call”. So, will he be right in his prediction of tomorrow’s Croydon and Sutton … Continue reading

Posted in 2016 London elections, Boris Johnson, Fiona Twycross, Ken Livingstone, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Steve O'Connell, Zac Goldsmith MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

O’Connell squeezed as Greens and LibDems go tactical

With two days to go until the London elections, and “Silent Steve” O’Connell, the London Assembly Member for Sutton and Croydon, has found himself in a double squeeze which could see him kicked off the City Hall gravy train where … Continue reading

Posted in 2016 London elections, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Sian Berry, Steve O'Connell, Zac Goldsmith MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Ahmad challenges ‘Silent Steve’ to condemn racist campaign

“Dog whistle politics” and allegations of racist campaigning by the Tories have seen this week’s London elections described as among the dirtiest ever fought. And it’s not just WALTER CRONXITE reporting that, but the Green Party, a Conservative peer and … Continue reading

Posted in 2016 London elections, George Ayres, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Sian Berry, Steve O'Connell, Zac Goldsmith MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Khan braced for Tory attacks as poll gives him 20% lead

In what is probably the final, meaningful opinion poll (oxymoron klaxon) before voting in the London elections next Thursday, Labour’s Sadiq Khan – “the council estate boy from south London” – appears on track to become the capital’s third mayor, … Continue reading

Posted in Caroline Pidgeon, Ken Livingstone, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Sian Berry, Zac Goldsmith MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

‘You’re stuffed’: O’Connell attacks Tory housing policy

London Assembly Member Steve O’Connell last night launched an unexpected attack on his own party’s housing policies. “If you earn around £35,000, you’re basically stuffed,” O’Connell said dismissively of the impact of Conservative policy when speaking to a small, supportive … Continue reading

Posted in 2016 London elections, Boris Johnson, Coulsdon, Housing, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad, Mayor of London, Steve O'Connell, Waste incinerator | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sutton councillor turns Green, but stays independent

The £1 billion South London incinerator, which is being constructed for operators Viridor at Beddington Lane, is fast becoming a hot issue of the City Hall elections, with political parties and candidates fighting each other to condemn the costly scheme … Continue reading

Posted in 2016 London elections, 2018 council elections, Croydon Greens, Environment, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad, Mayor of London, Refuse collection, Sadiq Khan, Shasha Khan, Sian Berry, Waste incinerator, Zac Goldsmith MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

London Assembly candidate calls for inquiry over incinerator

Marina Ahmad, Labour’s London Assembly candidate in Croydon and Sutton, is demanding an investigation into the contracts and deals surrounding the £1billion Viridor incinerator being built at public expense on Beddington Lane, on the Croydon-Sutton borough boundary. “The incinerator scheme … Continue reading

Posted in 2016 London elections, Environment, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad, Sadiq Khan, Steve O'Connell, Waste incinerator, Zac Goldsmith MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

From a Polish prince to the cannabis party: the Mayoral choice

There will be 12 names on the ballot paper on May 5 bidding to become the third Mayor of London, it was confirmed this morning. As the race proper for City Hall gets under way, the battle lines between Labour’s … Continue reading

Posted in 2016 London elections, Caroline Pidgeon, London Assembly, London Fire Brigade, Marina Ahmad, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Sian Berry, Steve O'Connell, Zac Goldsmith MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Goldsmith keeps coming back for more in Croydon

6 – 1 In football, 6-1 is not the sort of scoreline that you’d expect to help you win you the league title. But that’s how many times the two main contenders have visited this part of the city so … Continue reading

Posted in 2016 London elections, London Assembly, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Zac Goldsmith MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ahmad to debate with O’Connell on eve of London elections

“After eight years of Boris, London needs a Labour Mayor.” As a motion for debate, it suggests only one answer, though given it is the topic up for discussion in true blue Old Coulsdon, at the Purley and Coulsdon Debating … Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Boris Johnson, Coulsdon, Environment, Kenley, London Assembly, Marina Ahmad, Mayor of London, Purley, Steve O'Connell | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Labour splits in Croydon undermine Khan’s Mayor’s bid

WALTER CRONXITE on rumblings of discontent within local Labour The visit of Labour’s London Mayoral hopeful, Sadiq Khan, to Croydon on Saturday exposed again the north-south divide, not only within the borough’s red and blue areas, but also the growing … Continue reading

Posted in 2016 London elections, 2018 council elections, Ashburton, Coulsdon, Croydon South, London Assembly, Marina Ahmad, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Tony Newman, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Labour picks Assembly candidate with fewer than 600 votes

Amid all the “excitement” and “euphoria” (those are not entirely the right words, but you’ll know what we mean) surrounding Corbynmania over the weekend and the election of Labour’s party leader and London Mayoral candidate, one other selection took place, … Continue reading

Posted in 2016 London elections, Croydon North, Ken Livingstone, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Louisa Woodley, Marina Ahmad, Mayor of London, Sarah Jones MP, Steve O'Connell, Val Shawcross | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment