Thank you Madam Mayor
This motion has not come about due to any desire on the part of Labour to give the people of Croydon what their record breaking petition deserves. They ignored that when it was submitted and used every ruse they could find to block it. No, this motion is preparing the ground to fix an election date before MHCLG take the matter out of Labours hands. They will bring this back and use their majority in this chamber to pre-empt MHCLG and set a time for the Mayoral election that they think is best for them! This is what Cllr Ali does, it’s what all the Labour Cllrs here in Croydon do. Totally ignore the will of the residents and do whatever is best for themselves and the Labour party.
Just a few days ago we saw Cllrs Newman and Hall surface in the press, writing an article where they deny ANY responsibility for the disaster that they and Cllr Ali created. That the current Labour leadership would authorise an article that basically blames MHCLG for Croydon going bankrupt is incredible but par for the course. While the worst culprits skulk like cowards on the back benches, hiding from questions, protected by Cllr Ali it is the hard working staff of the council and the most vulnerable residents who are paying the price. And all this whilst the Labour leadership point blank refuse to action the pay cut that the Conservatives have already taken.
This motion is pure selfishness. Refusing to take a pay cut whilst making staff redundant and cutting services is pure selfishness. Allowing the former leader and finance lead to keep the Labour whip is pure self interest. Failing to get to grips with the mess they’ve created is pure incompetence.
All of this stems from one thing. Weakness. The current Labour leader is weak. Cllr Ali is only a couple of votes more popular in her party than Cllr Flemming! Too weak to take control of her own party, too weak to properly accept her responsibility, too weak to deal with her own Cllrs and far too weak to face the electorate. They even had to go and visit Newham for instruction on what to do about the mayoral referendum!
You can keep hiding but DEMOC demonstrates that the people of Croydon want their say on how this town is run. They are not happy with what you have done and they will have their day!
In the end it won’t matter when the referendum is held. We’ll back DEMOC and win it. So bring your motion, pick your date, eventually decide whose side you are on and we’ll see you at the ballot box!
Thank you Madam Mayor.
