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Tag Archives: Michael Gove
Petitioners tell ‘powerless’ Mayor Perry it’s time to stand down
Residents have reacted to last week’s announcement from Tory minister Michael Gove of new, increased statutory powers for the government commissioners overseeing the running of the cash-strapped council by demanding that Jason Perry, Croydon’s £82,000 per year elected Mayor, should … Continue reading
Posted in Community associations, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, South Norwood Tourist Board
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Purley Pool, South Norwood, South Norwood Tourist Board, Tory
14 Comments
Government panel given extra powers and new commissioners
Council to remain under the supervision of government-appointed panel, which has been given extra statutory powers, until 2025. By STEVEN DOWNES No matter how many times, or in how many different ways, that Jason Perry, Croydon’s piss-poor, part-time Mayor, stamps … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Brian Roberts, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Pamela Leonce, Statutory powers, Tony McArdle, Tory
9 Comments
Gove’s ministerial statement on state of Croydon finances
At lunchtime today, Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing, dropped a written statement to the House of Commons – just before the start of the summer recess – on the progress, or otherwise, made … Continue reading
Councils’ collapse should have been halted by Sunak or Gove
Croydon is far from alone as a cash-strapped local authority. And bit by bit, evidence is emerging from the series of financial crashes of councils that implicates not only Michael Gove but also Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. By STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, LGC, Local Government Chronicle, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Rishi Sunak, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Slough, Slough Borough Council, Thurrock, Thurrock Council, Tory, Woking, Woking Borough Council
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Gove finally admits it: Localism got councils all in a Pickles
Is the Levelling Up minister in denial about the extent of financial problems in local government? It certainly seems that way after his speech to the Local Government Association conference yesterday. By STEVEN DOWNES Michael Gove, the Secretary of State … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, LGA, Local Government Association, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Office for Local Government, Oflog, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Slough, Thurrock, Tory, Woking
9 Comments
Perry enters new plea to government to write-off council debts
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘This is not something we will be able to fix alone,’ the borough’s Mayor conceded in a recent letter to the Tory government – who haven’t bothered replying to his request. By our Town Hall correspondent, KEN … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jane West, Labour, Lee Rowley, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Slough, Thurrock, Tony McArdle, Tory, Woking
11 Comments
‘The Tories in England are enthusiastic only about ground rent’
One-third of homeowners in Croydon are leaseholders, but the Government has flunked its promises to reform the service charge system. Citing Gramsci and Marx, Michael Gove and Sarah Jones, our columnist ANDREW FISHER, pictured right, explains why getting rid of … Continue reading
Posted in Andrew Fisher, Business, Housing
Tagged Andrew Fisher, Croydon, Croydon North, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Housing, Leasehold, Leasehold reform, Lisa Nandy, Michael Gove, Sarah Jones MP
10 Comments
Perry admits he has failed to secure £540m debt write-off deal
CROYDON IN CRISIS: After a year in office, the Tory Mayor told a Purley audience last night that he has failed to ‘fix the finances’ and he won’t be opening the local swimming pool without lumbering the area with another … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hammersfield, Hammerson, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Purley, Purley Pool, Rishi Sunak, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
26 Comments
Perry admits he can’t take action against council’s bankrupters
Croydon’s part-time Mayor has always known that the actions of councillors and senior council staff ‘can decimate an authority… without any fear of recrimination’. But he’s been very reluctant to admit his impotency to the borough’s residents. By STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Improvement Board, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLU, DLUHC, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman, Tory
19 Comments
Greens, residents and LibDems put squeeze on Tory Surrey
Follow the yellow brick road: political editor WALTER CRONXITE takes a flight of fancy over the new political map of south-east England after last week’s local elections, which have given the LibDems much encouragement The fields of Surrey, Sussex and … Continue reading
Posted in Anna Jones, Caterham, Coulsdon, Epsom and Ewell, Mario Creatura, Mayor Jason Perry, Outside Croydon, Sarah Jones MP, Shasha Khan, Surrey, Tandridge District Council
Tagged Chaldon, Conservative, Coulsdon, Council Tax, Croydon, Dominic Raab, Esher and Walton, Green Party, Jeremy Hunt, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Local elections 2023, Mario Creatura, Michael Gove, Reigate and Banstead, Sarah Jones MP, Shasha Khan, Slough Borough Council, South West Surrey, Surrey Heath, Tandridge, Tandridge District Council, Thurrock Council, Tory
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Kerswell condemns councils’ accountability as inadequate
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Yesterday’s meeting of the cash-strapped council’s disciplinary committee may have committed Croydon to tens of thousands of pounds of additional legal costs, with no guarantee of any success in the cases which might eventually be brought. And … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shifa Mustafa, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Misconduct in Public Office, Penn Report, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman, Tory
7 Comments
Councillors agree to chase Negrini for golden handshake cash
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The same committee which met in August 2020 to agree the £437,000 payment to the departing CEO today decided to ignore the advice of senior lawyers and spend more council cash in trying to recover the pay-off. … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Croydon Council, Enid Mollyneaux, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, Patricia Hay-Justice, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, CIPFA, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Metropolitan Police, Michael Gove, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
9 Comments
Croydon put in special measures: ‘Worst of all possible worlds’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Announcements from Westminster and Whitehall today put the borough under the control of unelected bureaucrats who are answerable only to a Tory Government minister – in a scheme that the Mayor has helped plot for months. By … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lee Rowley, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Regina Road, S114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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‘Precautionary measure given the historic issues uncovered’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: At 12.15pm this afternoon, the council’s internal communications department issued the following statement to all staff, under the title, “Message from Executive Mayor Jason Perry and Chief Executive, Katherine Kerswell”. This is that statement in full: Dear … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Lee Rowley, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, S114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
2 Comments
Two years too late, Tory Government intervenes over council
CROYDON IN CRISIS: A Parliamentary written statement today effectively admitted defeat over the council’s bail-outs and ordered a Whitehall takeover of the council ahead of a possible £540m debt write-off Lee Rowley, the Tories’ local government minister, announced today an … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Katherine Kerswell, Lee Rowley, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, S114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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Gove holds back panel’s key report until after budget deadline
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The government appointed a panel of experts in early 2021 to oversee the operation of the ‘dysfunctional’ council. But after a delay of more than a year, they won’t publish their ‘assurance’ report until after the Tory … Continue reading
Posted in Community associations, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Tony McArdle, Tory
1 Comment
Green councillors tell Gove: Don’t make our residents pay for ‘a decade of bad decisions, dodgy deals and secret contracts’
Croydon’s Green Party councillors have issued an 11th-hour plea to Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove for him to withdraw permission for Croydon’s Tory Mayor, Jason Perry, to impose a punitive 15per cent Council Tax hike on the ordinary people of … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Esther Sutton, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Ria Patel, Tory
7 Comments
Tandridge is latest Surrey council to seek financial bail-out
Tandridge, one of Croydon’s boundary neighbours to the south, has become the latest Surrey council to appeal to central government for a financial bail-out. It is the second time that Tandridge District Council has sought a capitalisation direction – or … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Section 114 notice, Tandridge District Council
Tagged Catherine Sayer, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Limpsfield, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Oxted, Surrey, Tandridge, Tandridge District Council, Woking, Woking Borough Council
7 Comments
No Council Tax hike without seeing the assurance panel reports
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Michael Gove is not only permitting the borough’s Tory Mayor to hike Council Tax without a referendum, he is doing so while withholding reports from his own panel of inspectors. Which suggests the government has something to hide … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, The Penn Report, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Robert Jenrick, Tony McArdle, Tory
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10,000 signatures! Now government has to answer our petition
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Government must now respond to the petition raised by Inside Croydon that opposes the imposition of a 15per cent Council Tax increase without first holding a cross-borough referendum on the matter. The 10,000 signature threshold for … Continue reading
Government to write off £540m of council’s debts, as Croydon becomes the Northern Rock of England’s local authorities
Tory minister Michael Gove asked to agree deal that wipes half a billion pounds from council’s mountain of debt After spending months complaining about council’s ‘unsustainable’ debt, Mayor Jason Perry is seeking to borrow another £224m Perry’s 15% Council Tax … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, £540m debt write off, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Jane West, Jason Cummings, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Rowenna Davis, Tory
11 Comments
The solution to Perry’s finance problem: Fund Croydon Fairly
When a neighbouring London borough, with a smaller population and less deprivation than Croydon, gets £60m more central government funding than Croydon, something is very wrong. ANDREW FISHER on what the borough’s Mayor should really be doing instead of heaping … Continue reading
MP Jones ‘shocked’ by Perry’s ‘unacceptable’ 15% tax hike
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Residents simply cannot afford this Council Tax rise’ says Labour parliamentary front-bencher. By STEVEN DOWNES Sarah Jones, the Labour MP for Croydon Central, has spoken out against the 15per cent Council Tax increase which the Tory Mayor, … Continue reading
Croydon’s 15% Council Tax hike: now is the time for action
CROYDON IN CRISIS: In the past day, there’s been an overwhelming angry rejection of the idea that ordinary, hard-working families in this borough should pay even more for the mistakes and incompetence of council officials and politicians. Which is why … Continue reading
Posted in Community associations, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Inside Croydon, Local media, Mayor Jason Perry
Tagged Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats, London Borough of Croydon, Michael Gove, Parliamentary petition, Tory, Town Hall petition, Wolfie Smith
8 Comments
Public’s furious reaction to Perry’s Premium Council Tax hike
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Go climb in a skip. No one’s paying that’. Residents’ outrage at Council Tax hike sees demos and petitions planned In the 24 hours since Inside Croydon broke the news of Croydon Mayor Jason Perry’s request to … Continue reading
Posted in Claire Bonham, Community associations, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Stuart King
Tagged Claire Bonham, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Peter Underwood, STUART KING, Tory
14 Comments
