Tag Archives: Steve O’Connell

So farewell, then, Steve O’Connell. Here’s what you achieved

As the curtain falls on the long and very well-paid career in local politics of Steve O’Connell (pictured right),  who is standing down from public office today, Inside Croydon pays tribute to the Conservative councillor for Kenley and the Assembly … Continue reading

Posted in 2021 London elections, Kenley, London Assembly, Steve O'Connell | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Tories O’Connell and Mohan stand down from council

Two senior Conservative councillors, Steve O’Connell and Vidhi Mohan, announced today that they are standing down from the council. It brings to five the number of ward by-elections that will need to be staged on May 6, the same day … Continue reading

Posted in 2021 London elections, Fairfield, Kenley, London Assembly, New Addington North, Park Hill and Whitgift, Simon Hall, Steve O'Connell, Tony Newman, Vidhi Mohan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Time’s up for Davis as Labour narrows Assembly field to one

Labour’s laborious process of selecting their candidate for the Croydon and Sutton London Assembly seat might finally reach some conclusion tonight, as both the Croydon and Sutton Co-op and the Croydon Central Constituency Labour Party delegates decide whether or not … Continue reading

Posted in 2021 London elections, Croydon Central, Croydon South, London Assembly, Patsy Cummings, Rowenna Davis, South Norwood | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The A to Zaha of Palace’s problems for new football season

A Croydon councillor has called for Wilfried Zaha to “knuckle down” and honour his recently signed five-year contract with Crystal Palace. As well as being a councillor for Fairfield ward, Chris Clark also happens to be a trades union workplace … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Clark, Crystal Palace FC, Fairfield, Football, Roy Hodgson, Sport, Steve O'Connell, Steve Parish, Wilfried Zaha | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Only five Croydon Tory councillors listed as ‘Backing Boris’

Croydon Town Hall’s Conservatives are not backing Boris. That’s according to a listing published today by the Boris Johnson leadership campaign which includes just five of Croydon’s 29 Tory councillors, from among 1,000 Conservative elected representatives at local authorities around … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Stranack, Boris Johnson, Jason Cummings, Mario Creatura, Neil Garratt, Steve O'Connell, Tim Crowley, Tim Pollard, Yvette Hopley | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tory Bailey manages just a single question for Mayor Khan

Shaun Bailey, the Conservative Party candidate in next year’s London Mayor elections, is so hard-working that he managed to put up just a single question for last month’s session of Mayor’s Question Time. Bailey, who has been a London Assembly … Continue reading

Posted in 2021 London elections, Caroline Pidgeon, Caroline Russell, Fiona Twycross, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Shaun Bailey, Steve O'Connell | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

City Hall to debate Mayor investigation of TfL role in tram crash

The role of Transport for London officials in the withholding of “critical safety evidence” from the official investigation into the causes of the 2016 Sandilands tram crash is to be debated at City Hall this week. Mayor Sadiq Khan is … Continue reading

Posted in London Assembly, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Sandilands derailment, Steve O'Connell, TfL, Tramlink, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘Blue Labour royalty’ steps forward for Assembly selection

WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, on the latest developments in the race to become Croydon and Sutton’s next London Assembly Member Rowenna Davis, a Croydon Labour Party member with a national profile, is to seek selection to be her party’s candidate … Continue reading

Posted in 2021 London elections, Jamie Audsley, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Neil Garratt, Rowenna Davis, Sadiq Khan, Sutton Council, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

O’Connell’s threat to Ken Clarke displays his ignorance again

Silent Steve O’Connell, the London Assembly Member for Croydon and Sutton, is cutting an increasingly ludicrous figure around City Hall as he winds down towards his retirement to dozy Dorset. O’Connell, who is also a Tory councillor for Kenley ward, … Continue reading

Posted in Kenley, London Assembly, Steve O'Connell | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Taxi for O’Connell! Tory councillor thinks Tube runs to Croydon

There’s an old saying that you get what you pay for. It seems that these days, you can’t expect a great deal for £67,733. That’s the amount, in pay and council allowances, still being pocketed by “Silent” Steve O’Connell, the … Continue reading

Posted in Boris Johnson, Kenley, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Steve O'Connell | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Tory O’Connell lets slip he’s retiring to Dorset, two years early

Silent Steve O’Connell, once the country’s most overpaid councillor, has revealed that he intends to retire to Dorset next year, two years before he completes his full term as an elected member of Croydon Council for Kenley ward. But in … Continue reading

Posted in 2021 London elections, Croydon Council, Environment, Kenley, Steve O'Connell, Waste incinerator, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Creatura’s Town Hall promotion could signal early end of May

The next full meeting of our council is Monday’s anachronistic annual ‘mayor-making’ ceremony in the Town Hall chamber. Ahead of it, the council’s two political groups have been tinkering with their line-ups. Our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, reports that one … Continue reading

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Chris Clark, Crime, Croydon Council, Helen Redfern, Knife crime, Leila Ben-Hassel, Mario Creatura, Oni Oviri, Purley, Stephen Mann, Steve O'Connell, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sutton failed to consult on HGV plan, says Croydon Council

Sutton Council has been threatened with a public inquiry into their plans to redirect heavy lorry traffic into Croydon, as a senior Town Hall official has accused the neighbouring local authority of getting their figures wrong, of failing to follow … Continue reading

Posted in Broad Green, Business, Croydon Council, Environment, Planning, Steve Iles, TfL, Waddon, Waste incinerator | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Councillor’s £1,000 grant to football club outside the borough

One of Croydon’s football crazy Conservative councillors has been doling out council cash to a sports club that is based outside the borough. Croydon Council has allocated £560,000 per year to what it calls its ward budget scheme. Under the … Continue reading

Posted in AFC Croydon Athletic, Coulsdon West, Croydon FC, Football, Kenley, Mario Creatura, Sport, Steve O'Connell, Whyteleafe FC | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Feck! Croydon Tories cry foul as Garratt wins selection ballot

Political editor WALTER CRONXITE on a somewhat fractious outcome to the Conservatives’ vote on who  will represent the party in the 2020 London Assembly elections Neil “Father Jack” Garratt, the councillor for Belmont ward, will be the Conservative candidate for … Continue reading

Posted in 2021 London elections, Joseph Lee, Neil Garratt, Outside Croydon, Simon Hoar, Stephen Carr, Sutton Council | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cummings goes public with bid for London Assembly selection

KEN LEE, our Town Hall reporter, on an email to Croydon Labour group from a South Norwood councillor that seems to suggest she has the backing of Tony Newman Patsy Cummings wasted little time after the Christmas holidays to confirm … Continue reading

Posted in Bensham Manor, Jamie Audsley, John Wentworth, Kenley, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Patsy Cummings, Sadiq Khan, Shaun Bailey, South Norwood, Steve O'Connell, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tory Creatura and Croydon’s nightmare before Christmas

WALTER CRONXITE reports on signs that at least one political party in the borough is gearing itself up for a General Election (yep, another one) Members of Croydon’s Conservative Party will meet tonight to choose a candidate to contest the … Continue reading

Posted in 2021 London elections, Coulsdon, Coulsdon West, Croydon Central, Gavin Barwell, Joseph Lee, London Assembly, Mario Creatura, Sarah Jones MP, Simon Hoar, Sutton Council, Vidhi Mohan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mayor pledges to build bridges with Addiscombe businesses

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan this morning promised to intervene personally with Transport for London in an effort to end the lengthy delays in re-opening Blackhorse Lane bridge in Addiscombe. The 120-year-old bridge, which crosses the tram tracks, had become … Continue reading

Posted in Addiscombe West, Business, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Sarah Jones MP, Steve O'Connell, TfL, Transport, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

O’Connell’s ‘reap what you sow’ remarks branded ‘terrifying’

Political editor WALTER CRONXITE on how a Tory councillor has been forced into a climbdown after appearing to voice support for right-wing thugs after their assault on peaceful protesters There was cross-party condemnation last night for Steve O’Connell, the Croydon … Continue reading

Posted in Caroline Pidgeon, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Policing, Steve O'Connell, Tom Copley | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

MP Jones accuses Prime Minister of ‘ignoring’ knife crime

Sarah Jones, the MP for Croydon Central, today accused the Prime Minister of “paying lip-service” to the scourge of knife crime on our streets. “She wouldn’t ignore it if it was middle-class children getting stabbed,” the Labour MP said. Jones … Continue reading

Posted in Crime, Croydon Central, Knife crime, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Policing, Sadiq Khan, Sarah Jones MP, Steve O'Connell | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Palace paid not a penny towards their Old Bill bill last season

Crystal Palace go into the big Premier League kick-off tomorrow with a London politician demanding that the club pays a fairer share towards the costs of policing matches at Selhurst Park. Palace was the only London club in the top … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Dismore, Crystal Palace FC, Football, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Sport, Steve O'Connell | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Council gets more secretive over its councillors’ declarations

Political editor WALTER CRONXITE reports on a strange reversal of previous open and transparent Town Hall policy, which is deliberately keeping cabinet members’ interests under cover The Labour group which is running Croydon Council is becoming more secretive by the … Continue reading

Posted in Alison Butler, Badsha Quadir, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jason Cummings, Louisa Woodley, Mario Creatura, Oliver Lewis, Paul Scott, Simon Hall, Simon Hoar, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Labour councillors defy Scott over Queen’s Hotel expansion

WALTER CRONXITE, our political editor, on an against-the-odds victory for residents over the council’s planning machine For the second time in little more than six months, councillors sitting on Croydon’s planning committee have thrown out proposals for a giant-scale redevelopment … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Clark, Clive Fraser, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Felicity Flynn, Jason Perry, Oni Oviri, Parking, Pat Ryan, Paul Scott, Pete Smith, Planning, Queen's Hotel, Scott Roche, Simon Brew, South Norwood, Steve O'Connell, Steve Reed MP, TfL, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

MP Jones to speak against Addiscombe Road flats scheme

Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, reports on cross-party opposition to a property speculators’ multi-million-pound scheme that could change the exclusive Whitgift Estate forever Sarah Jones, Croydon Central’s Labour MP, will tomorrow night speak out at a Town Hall meeting against … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Housing, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Parking, Paul Scott, Pete Smith, Planning, Property, Queen's Hotel, Sadiq Khan, Sarah Jones MP, Steve O'Connell, Tony Newman, Vidhi Mohan, Wayne Lawlor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The race to replace ‘Silent’ Steve O’Connell has already begun

Just when you thought it was safe to go out on to the streets without risk of being button-holed by political activists, WALTER CRONXITE reports that preparations are already being made for the next round of elections Weekend reports that … Continue reading

Posted in 2018 council elections, 2021 London elections, Heidi Alexander, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Paul Scully MP, Sadiq Khan, Steve O'Connell, Sutton Council | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments