Tonight the 29 Conservative councillors for Croydon selected Cllr Jason Perry to be the new Group Leader and Leader of the Opposition. Cllr Perry will be supported by newly elected deputy leader Cllr Lynne Hale and returning deputy leader Cllr Jason Cummings, also elected at the Special General Meeting held this evening.
New leader Cllr Jason Perry has served as deputy leader of the Group since 2017 and has been shadow cabinet member for planning and regeneration since 2014. He replaces retiring Group Leader Cllr Tim Pollard, who indicated in the spring that he would stand down this September.
Cllr Jason Perry said “I am honoured to have been elected to lead Croydon’s Conservative Group by my fellow councillors and will do everything in my power to lead the group to victory in the local elections in 2022. Labour is on the brink of bankrupting our town and it has never been more important to have an active opposition and administration-in-waiting, ready to clear up the mess.
“I would like to thank the other candidates this evening, who have contributed to a lively debate about the future direction of our Group. We now need to come together to ensure we win in 2022 and restore the finances of our town, which have been destroyed under the current Labour administration.
“I would also like to thank outgoing leader Cllr Tim Pollard, who has worked hard to transform the group, not least by making it younger and more diverse. He has laid foundations upon which we can now build and I am saddened that family commitments have meant that he has had to reduce his role in our group. We wish him and Helen well for the future.
“I also want to congratulate the two elected Deputy Leaders, Cllr Jason Cummings and Cllr Lynne Hale – and my commiserations to the excellent candidates who were not successful this time. I am looking forward to working with the two Deputies and the shadow cabinet and I know we will make a strong team.
Cllr Tim Pollard, outgoing Leader, said “I am really pleased that the group has put its confidence in Jason. Whilst I am saddened to be leaving a role I have enjoyed and been honoured to hold, I know that Conservatism in Croydon is in safe hands”.
