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Facing defeat at the ballot box, Labour have chosen to play games with the campaign for a Directly Elected Mayor of Croydon
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Their political tactics are solely aimed at clinging on to power for as long as possible
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Croydon Conservatives believe the Council should vote in favour of holding a Mayoral Referendum in May 2021 to coincide with the London Mayoral vote
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This will ensure that the referendum is conducted at the minimum cost to our cash strapped council
This evening (Monday 8th February), Labour is proposing a motion that deliberately and unnecessarily stalls the successful campaign for a Directly Elected Mayor of Croydon.
Labour’s proposals will drag the process out longer than is necessary, advocating that the referendum should be on its own in October 2021. This cynical manipulation will cost the taxpayers of Croydon up to an additional £650,000, at a time when Labour’s bankruptcy can ill-afford such avoidable expenditure.
Croydon Conservatives, and the official Directly Elected Mayor of Croydon campaign, believe we should hold the referendum on the same day as the already scheduled London Mayoral election in May 2021 - saving much of this additional expenditure.
Over 17,000 local residents have signed a petition calling for a Directly Elected Mayor for Croydon, a system that could replace the failing and incompetent administration at the Council.
Handed in many months ago, Labour Leader Cllr Hamida Ali has reluctantly conceded that the petitioners have an overwhelming level of support in the borough. Instead of granting their petition, Labour have chosen to submit their own plan, taking the feet out from under the residents’ campaign in order to best serve their own partisan agenda.
If Labour support the principle of a Directly Elected Mayor for Croydon, as Croydon Conservatives do, then there is simply no need for the huge expense of holding a separate referendum. The only reason to hold one would be to delay the election by at least six months – thus denying many thousands of Croydon residents their opportunity to kick this moribund Council out in 2021.
Cllr Jason Perry, Leader of Croydon’s Conservative Councillors, says:
“Labour in Croydon have a reputation for ignoring our residents. From planning to parking and everything in between, this failing Council refuses to listen to the common sense of local people.
“So it is with the campaign for a Directly Elected Mayor. Facing defeat at the ballot box Labour is doing everything they can to delay the inevitable by proposing that the referendum is delayed until October 2021 when it could take place this May at less expense. They know their time will soon be up, so they are desperately trying to cling on to power for as long as possible.
“Labour have bankrupted our town, yet they’re intent on holding an unnecessarily expensive standalone referendum. They’re slashing vital services that will hurt the most vulnerable the hardest. They’re raising taxes and reducing support that will harm our precious local businesses – the backbone of the Croydon economy. They are running scared of democracy, and it’s clear for all to see.”
You can watch the debate on a Directly Elected Mayor of Croydon on Monday 8th February 2020 from 6.30pm on the Council’s livestreaming website.
