Thank you Madam Mayor.
It is of course no coincidence that this debate is taking place just one day before the Council would be forced into accepting the largest ever petition from Croydon residents. It is sadly standard form for Croydon Labour to be trying to subvert the will and intent of those same Croydon residents.
Labour have absolutely devastated our town. Both financially and reputationally. And yet still they cannot see their own fault. They still haven’t taken the pay cut that the Conservative opposition has! It wasn’t us that set up BxB or bought hotels, it wasn’t us that continually misled both the public and councillors as to the financial position of this council and yet it is us that has taken the lead and actually made a contribution. A contribution that our greedy counterparts steadfastly refuse to match. Think about that undeserved money every time you sack another member of staff Cllr Ali!
In the face of a Labour council showing such breathtaking incompetence and stunning arrogance in its refusal to ever listen to local opinion I am immensely proud of what Croydon residents have done. They have acted to try and create positive change. They have engaged with democratic process and they have mobilised, in a cross party movement made up of all political persuasions and none. And submitted a perfectly valid, huge petition which is both a damning indictment of the current regime and a massive boost for local, representative democracy. I pay tribute to their efforts and continued dedication to his important cause. I and the Conservative party in Croydon are 100% behind you. They want the Mayoral referendum held this May. I agree. We don’t need to wait six months to work out what our position will be when that vote happens either. We will campaign in favour of Croydon having a Directly elected mayor. A number of the more principled Labour members have made thier position clear. I wonder Cllr Ali (Croydon Labour) if you will be similarly open and transparent about your position? It would make a nice change.
This debate comes only a few days after the governments rapid review into Croydon has been published and we see the first real revelations about how our town was run under Cllr Newman and his Cabinet. That such a report should clearly state that our officers were being pressured into deceiving council and residents is utterly shameful. That Cllr Ali still defends and protects those colleagues is without justification. Unless of course, the fact that she only won the leadership from her party off the back of the votes of those same people is taken into account. Then the pattern of selfishishness is just reinforced even more. To be fair though, Cllr Ali is making the case for change here in Croydon even more strongly than I am! When the leader of Croydon Council is dependent for her position on the votes of discredited and failed Cllrs and is too weak to act without their continued support, the system is broken.
This Labour Administration support only themselves. This Labour Administration protect their own at the expense of others. This Labour Administration pocket public money whilst others bear the pain. This Labour Administration ignores residents and serves only itself. This Labour Administration has created the worst financial mess of any council EVER. This Labour Administration got Croydon into this mess by bullying and deceit. This Labour administration needs to go, now!
The Mayoral referendum should happen this May and I back DEMOC in their campaign for it to do so.
The people of Croydon have had enough! I will not back the delay caused by your self-serving, petty and obstructive motion.
Thank you.
