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Tag Archives: Tony McArdle
McArdle’s reward for Croydon failure: £1,200 per day in Brum
Having delivered no appreciable improvement in Croydon after more than four years, the council’s ‘improvement’ panel left south London last week, to be replaced by Commissioners. But the panel members’ ride on the gravy train does not end there. By … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Robert Ward, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged Bexley, Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Greenwich, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jackie Belton, James Blythe, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Merton, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory, Transformation plan
7 Comments
Tory councillor’s Commissioner video nasty is another wild rant
Simon Brew, a Conservative councillor in Croydon for the past 11 years, hasn’t had the best of luck with his campaigning on local issues when he has tried to use modern communication techniques – like videos. Remember how he lobbied … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Purley, Section 114 notice, Simon Brew, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Bankrupt, Chrildren's Services, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Eleanor Brazil, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Levelling, LGC, Local Government Chronicle, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Phil Brookes, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
13 Comments
Croydon residents pick up the £1m tab for ‘improvement’ panel
It is residents who will pay the cost of government ‘intervention’ if Commissioners move in at Fisher’s Folly next month, just as they have been paying for a panel of Whitehall-appointed ‘experts’ since 2021. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Official figures … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged Bankrupt, Chrildren's Services, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Eleanor Brazil, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Levelling, LGC, Local Government Chronicle, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Phil Brookes, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
13 Comments
Mayor Perry: ‘Residents of Croydon have felt enough pain’
The Mayor who has hiked your Council Tax by 27% in just two years today tried to claim that he has the Town Hall finances under control and that no one had raised any concerns about soaring levels of borrowing … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Cllr Rowenna Davis, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
17 Comments
Kerswell admits that council bail-outs are ‘not sustainable’
Crisis? What crisis? Council’s £204,000 per year chief exec spent last night at a glitzy awards event in Mayfair, with the government set to announce it would be sending in Commissioners to run the borough Back from a night out … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
9 Comments
Borrowing plan would lead to council’s ‘collapse’ says report
The government-appointed improvement panel recommended intervention by Commissioners after the cash-strapped council laid out ‘impossible’ plans for additional borrowing The “runaway position of the council’s finances” and a plan for continued bail-outs from central government had created “an impossible position”, … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
13 Comments
McMahon acts after serious concerns on ‘aspects of leadership’
‘The deteriorating financial position, which is not being gripped and tackled adequately by the council, is reaching a “financial crisis”.’ Here is the full written statement to the House of Commons today from Jim McMahon, the local government minister I … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
6 Comments
Government sends in Commissioners to run Croydon Council
After more than four years of ‘soft-touch’ intervention with a so-called ‘improvement panel’, today Whitehall mandarins lost patience with Mayor Jason Perry and CEO Katherine Kerswell’s poor management of Croydon Council. By STEVEN DOWNES Jim McMahon, Labour’s minister for local … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
16 Comments
What will sending in Commissioners mean for our council?
Government-appointed bureaucrats taking over the running of local level services happens only in ‘very exceptional circumstances and very much as a last resort’ according to Whitehall guidance Since 2020, following Croydon’s first Section 114 Notice issued that November, a number … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
6 Comments
You can be confident that the council’s targets will not be met
CROYDON COMMENTARY: After council chiefs admitted that they ‘cannot deliver a balanced budget’, DAVID WICKENS says that their ‘Stabilisation Plan’ is an admission of failure After Croydon Council released its “Stabilisation Plan” last week, I had a quick look back … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 2025 Council budget, Budget, Conservative, Council budget, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, David Wickens, Exceptional financial support, Exit Strategy, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle, Tory, Unbalanced budget
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Kerswell’s ‘Stabilisation Plan’ has failed before it is approved
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The fourth rescue plan issued by our cash-strapped council in as many years ‘cannot deliver a balanced budget’. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor “Desperate” and “deluded” are a couple of the kinder things that have been said … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 2025 Council budget, Budget, Conservative, Council budget, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Exceptional financial support, Exit Strategy, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle, Tory, Unbalanced budget
10 Comments
Tory Mayor’s ‘Our Croydon’ printed with £35k of YOUR money
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Jason Perry has been accused of misusing public money on a thinly-disguised propaganda rag to boost his election chances. But there’s also serious questions about how the project was ever passed by the government’s ‘improvement panel’. EXCLUSIVE … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Local media, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stuart King, Tony McArdle
Tagged 27%, Cllr Stuart King, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Eric Pickles, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Katherine Kerswell, Kim Jong Un, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, North Korea, Our Croydon, Propaganda, Susie Rundle, Tony McArdle, Tory
14 Comments
Kerswell says debt write-off talks with Whitehall are ‘active’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Releasing the council from the shackles of its toxic debt could be the only lasting solution – and talks with Whitehall on the suggestion are continuing, according to a report in a trade magazine Katherine Kerswell, Croydon … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, The Municipal Journal, Tony McArdle, Tory
13 Comments
£603,000: the soaring costs of Croydon’s ‘improvement’ panel
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Three years since Tony McArdle and his government-appointed team of troubleshooters were parachuted into the council, there are mounting questions about what they have achieved. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The Government-appointed chair of Croydon Council’s “improvement and … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Libraries, Section 114 notice, SEND, Tony McArdle
Tagged Bankrupt, Chrildren's Services, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Eleanor Brazil, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Levelling, LGC, Local Government Chronicle, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Phil Brookes, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
12 Comments
It’s time for our elected councillors to stand up for Croydon
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Saddled with £1.4bn of ‘toxic’ debt, Mayor Perry has been rendered paralysed in his management of the cash-strapped council’s finances. Ahead of tonight’s budget meeting, ANDREW PELLING outlines some of the options for the borough’s politicians There’s … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Community associations, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Esther Sutton, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Planning, Ria Patel, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Andrew Pelling, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department of Levelling Up, DLUHC, Esther Sutton, Green Party, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Liberal Democrats, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Ria Patel, S114, S114 notice, Say No To 15%, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
8 Comments
It’s the same in Croydon and Birmingham: Pay More, Get Less
In this week’s column, ANDREW FISHER, pictured right, looks at the criminalisation of journalism through the treatment of Julian Assange, and he charts the latest undermining of local councils by central Government It could be worse. You could live in … Continue reading
Posted in Andrew Fisher, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Alexei Navalny, Andrew Fisher, Birmingham City Council, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department of Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Jeremy Corbyn, Julian Assange, Michael Gove, Nottingham City Council, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory, Vladimir Putin
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McArdle’s £94.8m error in crucial report to minister Gove
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The latest submission from government-appointed experts included a small error that added up to very big money – and no one in power noticed. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES The latest report to Michael Gove at the Department … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Tony McArdle
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Michael Gove, Tony McArdle
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Council loaned Brick by Brick additional £47.3m last year
CROYDON IN CRISIS: In its latest report to Michael Gove, the Government’s improvement panel reveals a £38m hole in cash-strapped council budgets for the next four years – and repeats plea for unprecedented half-a-billion pounds loan write-off Croydon’s cash-strapped council … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, £540m debt write off, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Department for Levelling UP Housing and Communities, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Tony McArdle, Tory
5 Comments
Gove’s ‘improvement’ panel handed £1,000 per week pay rise
Trebles all-round! Self-professed ‘friend of Suella Braverman’ has given generous pay rises to the unelected bureaucrats overseeing Croydon’s cash-strapped council Michael Gove and his Conservative Government have just added another £50,000 per year on to the costs of running Croydon’s … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report, Tony McArdle
Tagged Brian Roberts, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jon Wilson, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Pamela Leonce, Phil Brookes, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Statutory powers, Tony McArdle, Tory
2 Comments
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
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice
Tagged Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jane West, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Rowenna Davis, Scrutiny and Overview Committee, Scrutiny committee, Thurrock Council, Tony McArdle, Tory, Toxic debt, Woking Council
10 Comments
Government panel given extra powers and new commissioners
Council to remain under the supervision of government-appointed panel, which has been given extra statutory powers, until 2025. By STEVEN DOWNES No matter how many times, or in how many different ways, that Jason Perry, Croydon’s piss-poor, part-time Mayor, stamps … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Brian Roberts, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Pamela Leonce, Statutory powers, Tony McArdle, Tory
9 Comments
Gove’s ministerial statement on state of Croydon finances
At lunchtime today, Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing, dropped a written statement to the House of Commons – just before the start of the summer recess – on the progress, or otherwise, made … Continue reading
Perry enters new plea to government to write-off council debts
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘This is not something we will be able to fix alone,’ the borough’s Mayor conceded in a recent letter to the Tory government – who haven’t bothered replying to his request. By our Town Hall correspondent, KEN … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jane West, Labour, Lee Rowley, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Slough, Thurrock, Tony McArdle, Tory, Woking
11 Comments
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
Posted in Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Scrutiny and Overview Committee, Scrutiny committee, Tony McArdle, Tory
12 Comments
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
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Kola Agboola, Mayor Jason Perry, New Addington North, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Stuart King, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Grant Thornton, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, S114 notice, S24 notice, Section 24 notice, STUART KING, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman, Tory
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