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Tag Archives: Simon Hall
If incompetent directors can be banned, why not councillors?
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Outsourcing giants Carillion went bust three years ago, and now the directors responsible face possible bans from the nation’s boardrooms. Likewise, incompetent councillors should also be barred from public office, says TERRY McCARTHY The news this week that … Continue reading
Whitehall picks McArdle to sort out council’s financial mess
CROYDON IN CRISIS: At Monday’s cabinet meeting, the council leadership repeatedly denied that the appointment of an Improvement Board from Whitehall will amount to a takeover. But if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck… Tony McArdle, … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Schools, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman, Virgo Fidelis
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, S114, Section 114, Simon Hall, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman, Virgo Fidelis, Virgo Fidelis Convent School
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Ali announces Labour U-turn over staging of mayor referendum
Our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, on the latest potentially costly change in position performed by the cash-strapped council The council’s Labour leadership today confirmed a massive U-turn on its previous opposition to having a referendum for a directly-elected mayor – … Continue reading
Hard labour: the Croydon Mayor, dodgy deals and bankruptcy
Town Hall reporter KEN LEE on a tale from Katharine Street’s history which resonates strongly today New Year may be a time for looking forward, but it can also be most useful for taking a backward glance, perhaps to learn … Continue reading
£30m Fairfield Halls project never went to competitive tender
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Brick by Brick’s management of the refurbishment of the Halls has been subject to disputes with at least two leading contractors £3m grant to build an art gallery was diverted to pay for other work – … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mott MacDonald, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Vinci Construction UK Ltd
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MP Reed discovers 20-20 hindsight over council finances
Steve Reed OBE, the Blairite MP for Croydon North, has broken his silence over the collapse of Croydon Council’s finances to make a claim that he had in some way been misled over the state of the bankrupt borough’s books. … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Croydon North, Section 114 notice, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon Council, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mario Creatura, Paul Scott, S114, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114, Simon Hall, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman, Tory
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The Audit Report: Newman’s £100m gamble with your money
CROYDON IN CRISIS: There’s growing public demand for some degree of accountability over the council’s financial collapse, and there’s mounting evidence that the former leader of the council and his mates broke rules to push through his pet policies. By … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Paul Scott, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
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Labour agree to hold mayoral referendum in October 2021
EXCLUSIVE: Council leader votes for a ballot that could cost as much as £1m, as agreement is finally reached to listen to the wishes of 20,000 Croydon residents. By STEVEN DOWNES The Labour group which controls Croydon Town Hall has … Continue reading
Car crash! Feltz radio interview has Ali struggling for answers
Hear the painful 20-minute interview on local radio that left Croydon’s council leader feeling exposed for her part in all the decisions that led to the collapse of the Town Hall finances Hamida Ali, the new-old leader of Croydon Council, … Continue reading
Lacey to be removed from board of mismanaged Brick by Brick
Consultants’ report is latest damning review of Croydon’s badly-run council. By STEVEN DOWNES Colm Lacey is to be removed from the board of Brick by Brick, the council’s loss-making house-builder, while funding for new schemes is to be frozen and … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Martyn Evans, Planning, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Martyn Evans, PwC, PwC Report, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
10 Comments
The late, late show: scrutiny sees anger and hears of bullying
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council is ‘on a journey’, according to the interim chief executive, who clung firmly to platitudes and clichés at her first scrutiny committee this week. But will it all be just ‘words, words, words’, as a … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Jo Negrini, Joy Prince, Katherine Kerswell, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Sean Fitzsimons, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman, Uncategorized
Tagged Alison Butler, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Jo Negrini, Joy Prince, Labour, Leila Ben-Hassel, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, S114, Sean Fitzsimons, Section 114, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
10 Comments
Officials to investigate possible wrong-doing at council
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Selflessness. Integrity. Objectivity. Accountability. Openness. Honesty. Truthfulness. Leadership. The Nolan Principles in public office are at last to be used as a test of the council’s leaders. By STEVEN DOWNES An investigation into whether disciplinary action should … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Local Government Association, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, S114, Section 114, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
11 Comments
The Audit Report: Council ignored five warnings on reserves
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Complacency and ‘corporate blindness’ to the problems at the council contributed to the collapse of the borough’s finances. But Grant Thornton’s report also managed to have a dig at Jo Negrini. WALTER CRONXITE reports Grant Thornton’s Report … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Report in the Public Interest, Robert Ward, Sean Fitzsimons, Selsdon and Addington Village, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged CIPFA, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Grant Thornton, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, Robert Ward, Sean Fitzsimons, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
4 Comments
The Audit Report: Newman won’t say sorry, even to colleagues
CROYDON IN CRISIS: After 15 years of running the Labour group to his own liking, the former council leader is not changing his old, bad habits. WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, reports The Grant Thornton Report in the Public Interest finally … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
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The Audit Report: ‘Tony Newman always has been a coward’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: More senior council figures could lose their positions as a result of the Report in the Public Interest which was released last night, as the Town Hall politicians take stock of its consequences. KEN LEE reports Half … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Brick by Brick, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Grant Thornton, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Karen Jewitt, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI, Sean Fitzsimons, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
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Consultant gives 75 reasons for council’s financial mess
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Tony Newman goes into tonight’s council meeting without the cabinet member for finance who has been at his side for a decade, and confronted with a report that shows his administration failed to listen to the warnings … Continue reading
Auditors look at legal sanctions over council’s finances
CROYDON IN CRISIS: A Town Hall committee has been told that the council was ‘in breach of financial regulations’ over its commercial dealings, as they delivered a report with 75 recommendations for improvements. By STEVEN DOWNES The resignation of Simon … Continue reading
Croydon in crisis: Finance chief Hall quits as pressure mounts
Political editor WALTER CRONXITE reports on the latest high-level casualty of the council’s self-inflicted financial crisis Labour councillor Simon Hall, the cash-strapped council’s cabinet member in charge of its finances, has quit. With the council struggling to fill the £70million … Continue reading
Hall’s resignation letter: ‘Dear Tony, I’m incredibly proud’
Simon Hall chose to send his resignation email to the council leader, Tony Newman, just before 10 o’clock on a Friday night. He forwarded it to his 40 Labour councillor colleagues a little more than an hour later, saying, “I … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
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‘Dear Simon: I look forward to working with you again’
This is how the leader of the council, and mate, Tony Newman replied to Simon Hall’s resignation letter. Sent under the subject title “Be Proud” at 11.07pm on a Friday, in his usual style of borderline incoherence Newman wrote: Dear … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
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Hold very tight: will Buss give Brick by Brick a rough ride?
Our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE, on how the local council troubleshooter who was brought in to deal with Kensington and Chelsea’s finances in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire has now been hired by Croydon In the final … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, Colonnades, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Paul Scott, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, BxB Review, Chris Buss, Croydon, Croydon Council, Grenfell Tower, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Paul Scott, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
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Audit shows £9m shortfall in Hall’s property speculation deals
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Internal audit report will make very uncomfortable reading for the council leader and his finance chief, and shows worrying budget problems for most of the council-run schools. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor It is barely a week … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Business, Children's Services, Colonnades, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Jo Negrini, Karen Jewitt, Katherine Kerswell, Schools, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alissa Flemming, Croydon, Croydon Council, General Purposes and Audit Committee, GPAC, Jo Negrini, Karen Jewitt, Katerine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
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Croydon’s rescue plan placed ‘at risk’ over £8m covid grant
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The cash-strapped council is struggling to make its sums add up, reports WALTER CRONXITE The £22.4million gap in the council budget could yet get worse, with the status of £8million of government grant made before the end … Continue reading
No conflict of interest over BxB review, claims chief exec
KEN LEE reports on a hurried closing of ranks at Fisher’s Folly over the loss-making council-owned house-builders Asking the council executive director who has been in charge of Brick by Brick’s piss-poor performance for the past four years to draw … Continue reading
