Tag Archives: Simon Hall

Labour refuse to respond to Cummings’s budget challenge

WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor, on a sham challenge issued to rival political parties by a borrowing-dependent Conservative administration that is trying to con the public that they have ‘fixed the finances’ As Tory Mayor Jason Perry prepares to deliver what … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Claire Bonham, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Ria Patel, Section 114 notice, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Davis’s Valentine’s message: I’ll mend Croydon’s broken heart

EXCLUSIVE: Labour candidate issues public apology for ‘some things that my party has done in the past’ in crashing Croydon Council’s finances Rowenna Davis has revealed how she has been talking to a consortium of around 12 potential investors and … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Andrew Fisher, Croydon Council, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Carserides gets new job as a lobbyist offering inside influence

Who does your local councillor really represent? It’s a reasonable question for all residents to ask, particularly those in South Norwood. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Just who does Labour councillor Louis Carserides represent? It’s not an unreasonable question for … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Louis Carserides, South Norwood, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Stuart King, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Party bosses criticised over bungled Mayor candidate selection

WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor, on the grumblings of disaffection among ‘loyal’ Labour members in Croydon  What’s left of Labour’s membership in Croydon, even those described as being part of the “loyal mainstream”, are getting increasingly unhappy with the way the … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon East, Simon Hall, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Labour Party ends suspension of ex-council leader Newman

CROYDON IN CRISIS: After more than four years, the two men who presided over what at the time was the biggest financial collapse in the history of local authorities in England have been allowed back into their political party. EXCLUSIVE … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, David Evans, Fieldway, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, New Addington South, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Steve Reed MP, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Accountancy watchdog moves in on officials from Woking

After almost five years, not a single person in Croydon has ever been held responsible for their parts in the council’s financial collapse, the scandal of Brick by Brick or the Fairfield Halls refurbishment fiasco. But in Surrey, two former … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Crime, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

MP Reed claims those who left borough broke ‘have now gone’

WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, checks the ‘facts’ where other local news outlets dare not look Steve Reed OBE, the MP who was Labour’s front bench spokesperson on local government at the time that the council for the area he is … Continue reading

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon North, David Evans, Environment, Fairfield Halls, Lambeth Council, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Sean Fitzsimons, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Stuart Collins, Stuart King, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Lord Evans of Penge completes clique’s stranglehold of Labour

Political editor WALTER CRONXITE gives his crystal ball a polish after one of his easier predictions came to pass Friday’s announcement of another raft of political peerages was the latest move to consolidate a takeover of the Labour Party by … Continue reading

Posted in David Evans, Lambeth Council, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Kroll Report provides no answers to £73m Fairfield fiasco

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Jo Negrini refused to be interviewed, all Colm Lacey’s emails got wiped and former cabinet members Newman, Scott, Butler and Hall were never spoken to in person as part of the £310,000 investigation. By STEVEN DOWNES Late … Continue reading

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, College Green, Colm Lacey, Crime, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mott MacDonald, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Labour Party chief’s consultancy business is in deep trouble

EXCLUSIVE: Might the failure of David Evans’s Croydon-based business offer some clues to the effectiveness, or otherwise, of his time running the party machine for Keir Starmer? By our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE Whatever might be planned by David Evans … Continue reading

Posted in Alison Butler, Croydon Council, David Evans, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Labour in Town Hall row over who gets to wear fancy dress

More squabbles among Croydon’s Labour councillors, but not over the cash-strapped council’s finances, library closures or the axing of other services to residents. The latest row was over who gets to wear the ridiculous robes and chain of the borough’s … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, 2026 council elections, Appu Srinivasan, Kola Agboola, New Addington North, New Addington South, Norbury Park, Stella Nabukeera, Tony Pearson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Labour refuses to deny suspensions over Croydon East ‘fix’

LABOUR SELECTION SCANDAL: The interim chair of a new CLP will not be presiding over an important meeting to be held next month, members have been informed, as the party is accused of vote-rigging ‘on an industrial scale’.  EXCLUSIVE by … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, 2024 London elections, Carole Bonner, Croydon East, David Evans, Maddie Henson, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Investigation call over property deals for £220m flats scheme

Residents in Addiscombe are angry that the council has ignored hundreds of objections and granted planning permission for 36- and 33-storey towers – and demand a thorough police investigation into the tax-payers’ millions lost on successive Croydon Park Hotel property … Continue reading

Posted in Addiscombe West, Botanical House, Brick by Brick, Business, Clive Fraser, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Housing, Jo Negrini, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Property, Report in the Public Interest, Sean Fitzsimons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Mayor Perry: we’ve reported no one for bankrupting borough

Tory Mayor now blames police for slow investigation – after having submitted complaint over former council leaders more than two years after the council received recommendations that it should do so. By KEN LEE, Town Hall reporter In an extraordinary … Continue reading

Posted in Crime, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Policing, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dirty tricks or treats: Labour selection’s Halloween horror films

Whoever gets picked as Labour’s candidate for the new Croydon East parliamentary seat is effectively being installed to a job-for-life sinecure. And with such high stakes, some have already bent the rules and resorted to underhand tactics, reports our Political … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Chris Philp MP, Croydon East, Paul Scott, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tory Mayor Perry admits to another broken election promise

No more ‘rewards for failure’ was the Tory promise before last year’s local elections. Now the council’s executive Mayor has conceded that he cannot act against Newman, Negrini or others accused of bankrupting the borough. By our Town Hall reporter, … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Council yet to start legal action on Negrini’s £437,000 pay-off

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor Perry is taking his time over his public claim to be pursuing the former council CEO for a refund of her golden handshake. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Almost two months after Jason Perry, Croydon’s elected Mayor, … Continue reading

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Simon Hall, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Jewitt sacked while Newman Numpties scramble back to power

CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Lazy’ Clive Fraser and Sean Fitzsimons, long-time loyal supporters of the Labour leadership which crashed the council’s finances, did not have to wait too long before being handed jobs under new(ish) leader Stuart King. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN … Continue reading

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Amy Foster, Brigitte Graham, Christopher Herman, Clive Fraser, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Karen Jewitt, Leila Ben-Hassel, Louis Carserides, Mayor Jason Perry, Mike Bonello, Patsy Cummings, Sean Fitzsimons, Simon Hall, Steve Reed MP, Stuart King, Tony Newman, Tony Pearson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

94% want Met Police to investigate Labour’s Newman and Hall

CROYDON IN CRISIS: An online poll conducted for this website shows an overwhelming number of the borough’s residents think that the former council leadership should face police action for an offence that carries a maximum life sentence. EXCLUSIVE by WALTER … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Jewitt says there was no wrong-doing – by her charity’s boss

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Many senior figures in the local Labour Party continue to try to deny that there was anything wrong with the way the former leaders behaved in the lead-up to the borough’s bankruptcy, as a speech at the … Continue reading

Posted in Charity, Croydon Council, CVA, Karen Jewitt, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Simon Hall, South Norwood, Stuart King, The Penn Report, Thornton Heath, Tony Newman, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Ex-councillor Hall says: ‘Sorry to be direct, but this is a lie’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Only two elected councillors have so far had their roles in the council’s financial collapse questioned, and Tony Newman and Simon Hall are still not saying sorry. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Tony Newman and Simon Hall, two … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments