Tag Archives: Rowenna Davis
Tory Mayor Perry admits: ‘Essentially, we’re insolvent’. Again
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Without significant help from Government, the council is unable to find a solution to its debt crisis. By STEVEN DOWNES Croydon Council’s intractable financial problems will never be resolved until the Government agrees to write off hundreds … Continue reading
Greens and LibDems to be given seats at scrutiny committees
Tonight’s scrutiny committee meeting will also see significant changes in approach, and a small crack appearing in the granite-like control of power held by Croydon’s political duopoly, reports WALTER CRONXITE More than two years after the slum-like conditions in Croydon … Continue reading
From part-time to powerless: Perry’s first year under scrutiny
WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, on how the public are already seeing through Croydon’s failing Tory Mayor Jason Perry, Croydon’s £82,000 per year elected Mayor, is likely to be given a “Must Do Better” rating when he presents his report on … Continue reading
Town Hall bomb scare halts committee’s rubbish discussion
Last night’s council scrutiny meeting had to be abandoned after the building was evacuated because of a bomb scare. The committee, chaired by Labour councillor Rowenna Davis, had spent more than an hour discussing the latest budget figures and the … Continue reading
Auditors and Government both losing patience with Kerswell
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Judged by the ill-considered political posturing going forward into tonight’s full council meeting, the borough’s Labour councillors haven’t yet worked out who it was that bankrupted the borough. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor The conman is back. … Continue reading
37-34: Mayor’s 15% Council Tax hike rejected in budget vote
ANDREW FISHER sat through the three-and-a-half hours of last night’s budget non-setting meeting, so that you didn’t have to Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat councillors voted together last night to reject the budget proposal from the borough’s Conservative Mayor, Jason … 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
Meeting over Council Tax hike over-subscribed within hours
CROYDON IN CRISIS: All places at a public Q&A session about the Tory Mayor’s 15% Council Tax increase were snapped up within hours of being released – even though the council gave the event little publicity. By STEVEN DOWNES An … Continue reading
Conservative Mayor Perry loses 3 votes at Town Hall meeting
ANDREW PELLING reports from the Press Gallery on success for Labour, Green and LibDem councillors in opposing Tory moves to cut Council Tax benefits to old age pensioners and the poor Jason Perry, the Conservative Mayor of Croydon, lost three … Continue reading
Westfield non-developers facing £5m fine for failed supermall
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council concedes it is virtually powerless over land-owners and developers for long-delayed regeneration scheme, as influential scrutiny chair admits her committee is not convinced things will change. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The company formed 10 years ago … Continue reading
Mayor makes rapid U-turn as report confirms £19.3m overspend
CROYDON IN CRISIS: A report to be discussed at the Town Hall tonight confirms the deepening financial problems facing the borough’s new Mayor. EXCLUSIVE by WALTER CRONXITE Part-time Mayor Jason Perry has been forced to admit that his Conservative administration … Continue reading
Time’s running out for Axis as new Mayor comes under scrutiny
The honeymoon period is over for Jason Perry, as the first reports of his administration are due to be published this week, reports KEN LEE, our Town Hall correspondent Jason Perry this week faces his first real tests as Croydon’s … Continue reading
All the King’s men (and women): meet Labour’s shadow cabinet
Last week, we provided the low-down on the new council cabinet under £81,000 per year Tory executive Mayor Jason Perry. Now our Town Hall reporter KEN LEE provides a briefing on the newly unveiled shadow team Some are born great, … Continue reading
Welcome to the one-party state of Our Great Leader Perry
Jason Perry will make his maiden speech as Croydon’s first executive Mayor in the Town Hall Chamber tonight, where a report on the agenda will underline that the borough’s new Conservative leader will not delegate any powers or responsibility, even … Continue reading
Amid apathy and antipathy, Waddon goes for Rich over posh
CROYDON LABOUR IN CRISIS: As the local party’s selection process staggers from one stitch-up to the next, poorly attended meetings are held to patch-up the damage caused by organisers’ incompetence and hypocrisy. By our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE Having managed … Continue reading
Waddon community comes together to enjoy veteran car run
A crowd of more than 50 people gathered by a road junction outside St Andrew’s Church on Southbridge Road over the course of Sunday morning, lured by the prospect of hot sausage rolls and the chance to view some historic … Continue reading
Veteran councillor Ryan is deselected while in hospital bed
WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, on the latest casualties of the council’s financial collapse Pat Ryan, a Croydon councillor for nearly 30 years, was last night deselected by members at a Labour Party meeting in his home ward of Crystal Palace … Continue reading
Sign up to be one of Croydon’s thousand mental health aiders
The Croydon Covid-19 Mutual Aid group is campaigning with the council and community groups to get a thousand residents trained in “Mental Health First Aid” as part of today’s World Mental Health Day. Taking part in the four-day online course … Continue reading
10 tips to help you and others on World Mental Health Day
Tomorrow is World Mental Health Day. Here, ROWENNA DAVIS (left) outlines some of the things which all of us can do to help others, and to help ourselves We need World Mental Health Day more than ever this year. According … Continue reading
Train on a free course to help others suffering the covid blues
The council is offering a two-day online course for residents to become mental health “first aiders”. Funded by Transport for London and the council, the course is in response to findings from charity Mind which showed the scale of the … Continue reading
UnFairbnb: Council has nothing to show for £200,000 spend
EXCLUSIVE: Our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE, provides a reminder of another significant amount of council cash that was poorly spent – but helped line the pockets of ‘friends and family’ of the Town Hall’s Labour leadership Do you remember … Continue reading
#Onetin: You can make a difference to reduce food insecurity
ROWENNA DAVIS, pictured right, and her covid-19 mutual aid group are making a difference to those struggling in poverty – one tin at a time At the beginning of this crisis, food insecurity was widespread, as supermarket shelves were stripped … Continue reading
Covid-19 Mutual Aid group put our ‘unsung heroes’ on the map
The borough’s mutual aid organisation that was set-up at the start of the coronavirus emergency, has now produced an updated map of food banks and soup kitchens which they hope will help “the unsung heroes of this crisis” – the … Continue reading
Ten top tips to help do your bit during the covid-19 emergency
After more than a week of the coronavirus lockdown, we’ve probably all got more time on our (very well-washed) hands than we know what to do with. Here, Croydon teacher and volunteer ROWENNA DAVIS (pictured left) offers some suggestions about … Continue reading
Davis will fight on – ‘You don’t need to be elected to do that’
Rowenna Davis, the candidate who missed out by 25 votes to stand for Labour in Croydon and Sutton in May’s London Assembly elections, says she will continue with her campaigning activism “to make a difference to people in… our capital”. … Continue reading
