Tag Archives: Ria Patel

Councillors make call to divest from Israeli-linked companies

More than 150 councillors from across London’s boroughs and London Assembly members have signed a letter demanding divestment of council pension funds from corporations which fund or support Israeli abuses against Palestinians. Yet only one of Croydon’s 70 councillors has … Continue reading

Posted in Bexley, Bromley Council, Dave Tchil, Kingston, Lambeth Council, Ria Patel, Sheldon Vestey, Southwark Council, Sutton Council, Wandsworth Council | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

‘War starts here on our doorsteps’: Greens picket weapons fair

Ria Patel, one of Croydon’s Green Party councillors, was part of a sit-down protest in Docklands yesterday at the start of a two-week picket of DSEI – Defence and Security Equipment International – one of the world’s largest arms fairs. … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Croydon Greens, Fairfield, Ria Patel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Jewitt tops councillor charts for a second successive year

After the brickbats for the work-shy do-littles who populate our Town Hall Chamber, today we celebrate those elected representatives who keep busy by keeping council officials busy They will be dancing down Sauchiehall Street tonight, as proud Scot Karen Jewitt … Continue reading

Posted in Amy Foster, Claire Bonham, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Fairfield, Gayle Gander, Karen Jewitt, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel, Robert Ward, Rowenna Davis, Samir Dwesar, Simon Fox, Stuart King, Thornton Heath, West Thornton, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Gone missing: Mayor ducks Town Hall cabinet for three months

EXCLUSIVE: Key public meetings have been cancelled, without any explanation, as Jason Perry is accused of wanting to run the borough by Trump-style edict. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Jason Perry, the Mayor of  a borough that is £1.4billion in … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Council, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel, Section 114 notice, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Ex-Labour councillor to stand for Greens in Fairfield in 2026

Paul Ainscough, once a Labour parliamentary election candidate and a former councillor for the party, has been selected to stand for the Green Party at next year’s council elections in Fairfield ward. He says he “feels let down by Labour”. … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, Croydon Greens, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Paul Ainscough, Peter Underwood, Ria Patel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Big Brother arrives in Croydon with Orwellian police cameras

North End and London Road are to be the first locations in the country to have permanently fitted Live Facial Recognition cameras, despite significant concerns about the legalities of the surveillance techniques and questions over their whether they even work … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Crime, Croydon Council, Croydon West, Fairfield, Knife crime, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Policing, Ria Patel, Zoe Garbett | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Video nasty has Mayor putting Heathfield up for sale again

CROYDON IN CRISIS: As he makes yet another U-turn, Jason Perry is refusing to provide a list of heritage assets that his council won’t flog off. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Mayor Jason Perry is preparing to put Heathfield House on … Continue reading

Posted in Addington, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Environment, Gardening, Heathfield House, History, Mayor Jason Perry, Property, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Council invests £16m in companies ‘complicit in war crimes’

A community group is planning a protest outside the Town Hall tomorrow morning, to bring further attention to how Croydon Labour is backing the Tories over holding investments in companies that have been arming the Israeli military during its genocidal … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Callton Young, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Heritage building Heathfield House is pulled from auction

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor Jason Perry’s bungling council has now withdrawn the publicly-owned Grade II-listed building from the auction in their latest embarrassing climbdown Croydon’s bungling Mayor Jason Perry has been forced to withdraw Heathfield House from the controversial auction … Continue reading

Posted in Addington, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon parks, Environment, Gardening, Heathfield House, History, Mayor Jason Perry, Natasha Irons, Property, Ria Patel, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

They voted to raise your Council Tax, then to increase their pay

TOWN HALL SKETCH: Things don’t sound too good in the Chamber these days, and it is not just because the council has hired a cheaper contractor for its audio system. As tempers frayed at the most important meeting of the … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Amy Foster, Avril Slipper, Callton Young, Christopher Herman, Claire Bonham, Council Tax, Croydon Carers, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Esther Sutton, Ian Parker, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Kola Agboola, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel, Rowenna Davis, Sean Fitzsimons, Section 114 notice, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Hastings councillor offers a way through the political brambles

How should we counter the rise of the far-right? As KEN TOWL found out when he arrived on time at the Croydon School of Philosophy, by offering some truth and understanding In the School of Philosophy on Addiscombe Grove, not … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon East, Croydon Greens, Croydon South, Croydon West, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Ken Towl, Natasha Irons, Peter Underwood, Ria Patel, Sarah Jones MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Cut Mayor’s special allowances by 50%, say Croydon’s Greens

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Ahead of the council’s more-heat-than-light annual Budget meetings that begin this week, PETER UNDERWOOD highlights how the councillors of one party at the Town Hall are presenting some realistic proposals Honesty and fairness. They are the themes of … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Fairfield Halls, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Ria Patel, Youth Services | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

In-depth and informed: our podcast questions the councillor

Just how does Croydon’s cash-strapped council function? Is Westfield deliberately driving traders out of the Whitgift Centre? Why won’t Mayor Perry allow some councillors to speak at council meetings? Which Newman Numpty is today the chair of a key council … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Cockneys of Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, Fairfield, Inside Croydon, Katherine Kerswell, Ken Towl, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel, Surrey Street, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Labour back Conservatives on fossil fuel and arms investments

KEN LEE reports from the final full meeting of the council this year Ethics and morals are just too expensive for Croydon’s Conservative and Labour councillors. Two petitions were submitted to Wednesday night’s council meeting calling on the Mayor to … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Callton Young, Climate Crisis Commission, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Environment, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Ria Patel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Greens look to halt council’s investment in global arms trade

Town Hall reporter KEN LEE on a move to bring a more ethical approach to the council’s massive pension fund As global tensions increase over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with permission being given by the United States for American … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Ria Patel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Three years on and council is using old rules to gag opposition

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Three years since residents in the borough voted to change the system at the council, and staff have still not managed to update the Town Hall constitution, leaving some councillors gagged, unable to ask questions or propose motions … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Auction has a twist in the sale over Coombe Road plot-boiler

BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent, on the latest non-developments in the saga of a scrap of town centre open space without planning permission Croydon Mayor Jason Perry might have another half-million-pound hole in his overspent, unbalanced council budget, after a property … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Neal, Planning, Property | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Controversial Brick by Brick site to be auctioned for £550k

BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent, reports on the latest planning mystery at the cash-strapped council The scrap of open space at the junction of Edridge Road and Coombe Road, next to heritage-listed building Ruskin House, is set to be auctioned off … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Chris Clark, Croydon Council, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Neal, Planning, Property, Ria Patel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Making our roads safer for pedestrians makes sense for us all

CROYDON COMMENTARY: City Hall and our borough Town Hall are being petitioned over a busy junction that lacks a safe crossing place for pedestrians, as PETER UNDERWOOD explains In my lifetime there have been major advances in road safety. From … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Peter Underwood, Ria Patel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Latest poll predicts the implausible with Philp doing Houdini act

Labour candidates have been briefed to say nothing or to claim ‘Nuffink to do wiv me, Guv’ is their best way of dodging questions about their party’s bankrupting the borough, as the campaign crawls its way towards its final week. … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Andrew Pelling, Ben Taylor, Bobby Dean, Chris Philp MP, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Ellie Reeves MP, Elliot Colburn, Luke Taylor MP, Natasha Irons, Paul Scully MP, Sarah Jones MP, Sutton and Cheam | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Go West! Greens name Patel, as Ramsey steps up for Tories

Greens announce parliamentary candidates for three seats across Croydon and Sutton, as a Tory councillor helps out her party in its hour of need by taking on a hopeless task in east London Ria Patel, the Greens’ councillor in Fairfield … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Croydon Greens, Croydon West, Fairfield, Holly Ramsey, Marley King, Ria Patel, Sarah Jones MP, Tracey Hague | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

FREE: Our podcast answers the important election questions

Why vote? That is a question for many of us ahead of the July 4 General Election. In our latest, special episode of the Croydon Insider podcast, a panel of experts tries to answer some of the questions put to … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Andrew Fisher, Croydon East, Croydon Insider, Croydon South, Croydon West, Inside Croydon, Ken Towl, Ria Patel, Streatham and Croydon North, Under The Flyover | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Perry stages scrutiny stitch-up to dodge the tough questions

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Halfway through his term of office, and the executive Mayor has broken cross-party understandings to dodge scrutiny – appointing a climate crisis sceptic to chair the council’s environment scrutiny committee. WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, reports It took … Continue reading

Posted in Alasdair Stewart, Andrew Price, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Environment, Park Hill and Whitgift, Richard Chatterjee | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

From Croydon to Peckham, activists stand by asylum seekers

The civil disobedience action aimed at frustrating, delaying or even stopping altogether the removal of asylum seekers from their accommodation in south London on to other locations, including deportation to Rwanda, has shifted from Croydon’s Lunar House to Peckham today. … Continue reading

Posted in Community associations, Crime, Fairfield | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Asylum seekers tricked at Lunar House for Rwanda removal

The first potential deportees under the Tory Government’s controversial Rwanda scheme were taken from a Home Office building in Croydon at the dead of night, after having arrived at Lunar House for what they had been misled to believe was … Continue reading

Posted in Fairfield, Ria Patel | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments