Cllrs Newman and Hall remain Labour Councillors - despite mounting damning evidence
Last week it was announced that the national Labour Party has taken the extreme step of suspending the Party membership of Cllrs Tony Newman and Simon Hall – however they still remain Labour Councillors in Croydon.
In Autumn 2020 Croydon Council had to effectively declare bankruptcy – having amassed a record-breaking £1.5 billion of debt, that’s £15,000 borrowed every hour since Labour took control of the Council in 2014. Newman and Hall were the Leader of Croydon Council and Finance Lead respectively.
In September 2020 Croydon Conservatives tabled a motion of no confidence in Cllrs Newman and Hall, demanding their immediate resignation. Labour councillors chose to rally behind them, and protected them from the vote.
A few days later, Cllrs Newman and Hall announced their resignations and returned to being backbench Labour councillors. This protected them from being scrutinised by the Council, a move that essentially meant they were avoiding being held accountable for their actions.
In October 2020 Newman Loyalist Cllr Hamida Ali became the new Leader of Croydon Labour and therefore Croydon Council. She is Cllr Newman’s ward colleague; she was Cllr Hall’s Finance Deputy; she served in his Cabinet and agreed with every single Budget presented to Council – never once rebelling.
Numerous revelations have come out in recent months, including a terrible allegation from an anonymous Labour councillor that Labour’s culture was “one of shocking bullying” – but still Cllr Ali has refused to withdraw the Labour Whip from Cllrs Newman and Hall.
Croydon Conservatives have consistently made the case that those responsible for bankrupting our borough should be held accountable for their actions. Many months since the crisis was first made public, Cllrs Newman and Hall continue to evade public scrutiny.
Cllr Lynne Hale, Deputy Leader of Croydon’s Conservative councillors, says:
“Time and time again we Conservatives have called on Cllr Hamida Ali to take decisive action and remove the Labour Whip from Cllrs Newman and Hall. Each and every time she has refused to take the tough decisions, instead working to protect those who bankrupted our borough.
“Let’s not forget that Cllr Ali is Cllr Newman’s ward colleague and has always been a very vocal supporter of him. In 2016 she was his Deputy Cabinet Member for Finance. For the last five years she loyally served in his Cabinet, ratifying and endorsing Labour’s terrible financial choices – choices that caused Croydon’s bankruptcy.
“It’s clear where Cllr Ali’s loyalties lie: not to the Council staff taking responsibility, or to the residents who will have to pay for her administration’s incompetence, but to her own Labour councillors.
“This is the greatest financial crisis ever to affect Croydon and by keeping Cllrs Newman and Hall in the Croydon Labour Group, Cllr Ali is showing huge disrespect to Council staff and to Croydon residents.”
