We visit The Woolpack in Banstead and chat about recent developments at Croydon Council and the dire state of their finances.
Category: Croydon Council
TFL taking taxpayers for a ride!
The decade after the financial crisis has seen many front line public sector and most private sector employees receive below inflation pay rises, with many suffering years of stagnant earnings.
Not so for those at the top of City Hall, delivering value for money from the public purse is of no barrier for their earnings. The TaxPayers’ Alliance have published their City Hall Rich List 2020 which reveals:
- 654 people employed by the GLA and its subsidiary bodies in 2018-19 received more than £100,000. 154 received over £150,000.
- Transport for London alone has 518 employees on over £100,000. With 114 on more than £150,000.
- 28 employees received remuneration in excess of a quarter of a million pounds in 2018-19.
Taxpayers have to fund this on top of all the other costly burdens of living in London., with the Mayor having increased the band D council tax precept by just under nine per cent in 2019-20.
London taxpayers are paying Limousine prices for what all too often turns out to be a Reliant Robin service from City Hall. This is on top of the burden from London’s Borough Councils. Croydon Council employs more than 23 staff on over £100,000 a year. Hardworking Taxpayers need a fair deal that protects them as well as rewards staff.
We know the economy has taken a serve hit from Covid 19 and the lockdown. We ask that City Hall and its subsidiary bodies share the burden with those who pay their wages. We think it’s reasonable to ask that no new employee in the Metropolitan Police, Greater London Authority, London Fire Brigade or the Mayoral team, be paid more than the Prime Minister. Those in post were employed in good faith and must retain their salaries, but surely it is not unreasonable in these troubled economic times to say a Deputy commissioner in the London Fire Brigade or a Transformation director in TFL does not need to be paid more than the person running Britain!
We calculate that if this were already the case, just capping the salaries of the top 20 highest paid staff in TFL would save over £3.9 million a year. A good start to helping council tax payers.
TaxPayers’ Alliance full report – https://www.taxpayersalliance.com/city_hall_rich_list_2020
Coverage in South London Press – https://pages.pagesuite.com/5/b/5be8a065-97de-4289-ae5e-fa5db3d8aed6/page.pdf

Article main image: Daring Donna
Taken for ‘grant-aid’
‘So we’ll have to stop running around spending money like drunken sailors,’ I said.
‘Well, drunk sailors tend to be spending their own money,’ Tony said. ‘By contemporary standards they’re quite prudent.’
*Quote of the day by John Lanchester, writing about the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the London Review of Books.
We have seen further coverage this week of the financial crisis in Croydon Council where:
“The council is facing a £62 million overspend and currently has £440 million worth of debt made up of short term loans.
Given its annual budget this year was £280 million, the overspend represents about one fifth of the council’s total annual spending power.”
As we have covered previously Croydon Council now has 23 staff who earned over £100,000. 16 more that Barnet council which is about the same size and 12 more than Sutton, 3 more than Bromley (which can afford this as it doesn’t have any debt).
But do we get value from these highly paid staff? Do they provide a great service?
As part of the government’s response to the Covid-19 crisis, councils are tasked with paying out grants to local businesses under the ‘Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF) scheme’ and ‘Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Grants Fund (RHLGF)’.
We can now measure some of the success of Croydon Council’s high pay bill. The government has published details of the amount of grants paid out against the initial funding, and expected number of payments.
Croydon Council has found itself in the bottom 10% of payments made by number and by amount. Croydon having made only 77% of the payments identified and 71% by amount. This compares to 84% and 80% on average by local authority, with 96 authorities having made over 90% of their identified payments. Maybe they employ 24 people on over £100K?
Croydon ranks 290 out of 314 local authorities as below:
Ranking | Local Authority | Initial Allocation | hereditaments that the local authority has identified | grant payments made to hereditaments | Value of payments (£) | % of value of payments | % of number of payments |
Top 3 | |||||||
1 | City of London | £14,740,000 | 937 | 937 | £15,310,000 | 104% | 100% |
2 | Westminster City Council | £78,090,000 | 4,856 | 4,856 | £86,720,000 | 111% | 100% |
3 | London Borough of Ealing | £68,212,000 | 5,110 | 5,088 | £69,945,000 | 103% | 100% |
290 | London Borough of Croydon | £60,588,000 | 4,118 | 3,189 | £43,305,000 | 71% | 77% |
Bottom 3 | |||||||
312 | Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council | £73,036,000 | 5,887 | 3,741 | £42,495,000 | 58% | 64% |
313 | Corby Borough Council | £11,516,000 | 1,240 | 773 | £9,215,000 | 80% | 62% |
314 | Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council | £80,860,000 | 8,585 | 4,593 | £52,875,000 | 65% | 54% |
Average | 80% | 84% |
Croydon Council is again failing local taxpayers. These provide much needed funding to keep local small businesses going and high streets running. Local companies including Coughlans Bakery, All Bikes, and Old Whitgift Sports Club, have come forward with concerns. In central Croydon this is all the more important at a time the council has failed to secure the regeneration of the town centre via the Westfield development.
You can pay for quality, but questions need to be answered as to how Croydon taxpayers are being forced to pay and are still receiving services in the bottom 10%.
*With links - QUOTE OF THE DAY BY JOHN LANCHESTER, WRITING ABOUT THE SUB-PRIME MORTGAGE CRISIS IN THE LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS.
Podcast Episode 28 – COVID Posturing, TFL Bailout, Trade Talks & an interview with Councillor Jeet Bains
We discuss the COVID posturing of various politicians, the TFL Bailout and the developing trade talks with the EU, Japan & the USA. We then have an interview with Jeet Bains, the Conservative Councillor for the Addiscombe East ward in Croydon. Jeet talks about his ward, his recent Parliamentary candidacy in Luton North, housing development in Croydon and how he believes the Tories can win back the Council. He also discusses the opportunities that Brexit can bring for Croydon.
Jeet can be found on twitter at @Jeet__Bains and for more information read our interview with him.
Quotes from Councillor Bains.
On the Election and government:
“Jeremy Corbyn for example, he in no way represented a thing called the centre ground”
“there are just certain things the British people will not countenance, for example Marxism. However you dress it up, nobody in Britain is interested in Marxism”
“quietly privately the British people will not put up with that kind of prejudice”
“from the LibDems it was clear you need a credible leader but also someone who is believable. For example Jo Swinson, who kept on calling herself the next Prime Minister, it just wasn’t credible it went beyond laughable”
“local action on the ground, there is no substitute for it. It’s still really, really crucial in elections”
“the public sector, there is a bias towards caution and inaction. That kind of thing at the best of times is not the best way to do things, but in the situation we have today could potentially be lethal”
On Croydon Council:
“contrast that with Labour. They are allowing residential homes to be converted into flats anywhere and everywhere, and not just allowing it they are positively encouraging it”
“if you live on a road there is every chance the house next door to you will be converted into a block of flats. We need to get that message across”
“being clear the existing folk are not monsters. They are very understanding folk who want to accommodate more housing provision, but we can do it in the right way and in a sensitive way”
“Why has Croydon signed-up pretty much unilaterally to a far higher housing target than Bromley and Sutton?”
On Brexit:
“it requires imagination, that was point, to simply keep on saying ‘Brexit equals threat, oh my god it’s so awful’. We’ve got to stop that, we’ve got to have, it’s an opportunity, the people have voted for it, it’s happening, stop it with the misery”
“They pitch for as much as they think they can get away with and then think what to spend it on” – Highlights from Croydon Council

The TaxPayers’ Alliance’s annual Town Hall Rich List has been released. You can read it in full here. This shows council employees who received total remuneration in excess of £100,000. The latest is 226 more people than in 2017-18, and the highest number since 2013-14.

Councils talk of austerity and keep ramping up council tax rises. In Croydon the report shows we have 23 people who earned over £100,000 last year and 3 who earned more than the Prime Minister. This is up from the 19 people who earned over £100K the previous year. The London Borough of Barnet, which is about the same size as Croydon makes do with just 7 staff on over £100K and only 1 earning more than the Prime Minister. Neighbouring us, Sutton has just 11, Merton 9, Lambeth 16, Bromley 20, Tandridge 1, and Reigate and Banstead 4, on more than £100K. All below Croydon. Details of those employees earning over £100K are below.
Name | Job title | Salary | Compensation for loss of office | Sub total | Pension | Total |
Jo Negrini | Chief Executive | £188,700 | £188,700 | £28,494 | £217,194 | |
Guy Van Dichele | Executive Director (Interim) of Health, Wellbeing & Adults | £215,444 | £215,444 | £ – | £215,444 | |
Undisclosed | £202,500 | £202,500 | £202,500 | |||
Shifa Mustafa | Executive Director, Place | £153,000 | £153,000 | £23,103 | £176,103 | |
Richard Simpson | Executive Director of Resources and Section 151 officer | £143,892 | £143,892 | £21,550 | £165,442 | |
Undisclosed | £152,500 | £152,500 | £152,500 | |||
Eleni Loannides | Executive Director (Interim) Children, Families and Education | £150,000 | £150,000 | £ – | £150,000 | |
Undisclosed | £142,500 | £142,500 | £142,500 | |||
Jacqueline Harris-Baker | Director of Law and Monitoring Officer/Executive Director of Resources and Monitoring Officer | £120,080 | £120,080 | £18,132 | £138,212 | |
Undisclosed | £127,500 | £127,500 | £127,500 | |||
Barbara Peacock | Executive Director, People | £ 67,837 | £ 53,808 | £121,645 | £4,228 | £125,873 |
Undisclosed | £122,500 | £122,500 | £122,500 | |||
Undisclosed | £122,500 | £122,500 | £122,500 | |||
Undisclosed | £117,500 | £117,500 | £117,500 | |||
Undisclosed | £107,500 | £107,500 | £107,500 | |||
Undisclosed | £107,500 | £107,500 | £107,500 | |||
Undisclosed | £107,500 | £107,500 | £107,500 | |||
Undisclosed | £107,500 | £107,500 | £107,500 | |||
Undisclosed | £107,500 | £107,500 | £107,500 | |||
Undisclosed | £102,500 | £102,500 | £102,500 | |||
Undisclosed | £102,500 | £102,500 | £102,500 | |||
Undisclosed | £102,500 | £102,500 | £102,500 | |||
Undisclosed | £102,500 | £102,500 | £102,500 |
If the council isn’t splashing the cash on high paid executives they are spending it on cultural events and local community groups. Many of these are good causes some less so. The council publishes their spending over £500. We’ve reviewed the spend in 2019 and found some particular lowlights like the £105,666 spent on Consultancy Fees for a cost called ‘Brick by Brick Overheads and Admin’. It total £333,364 was dished out by local councillors in 2019 in amounts over £500 as part of their Community Ward Budgets. Much of this goes to local residents’ associations and clubs, many very worthy, but are these the core services we pay our Council Tax for?
We don’t think you should pay for our weekends, or for that matter we should pay for yours. We like Croydon’s Pride event, Mike of this parish has attended all of them. He would like to thank you for subsidising his day out, but would rather you hadn’t been forced to. In 2019 a total of £59,360 was paid out to Croydon Pride between Community Ward Budgets and the Culture Growth Fund, a huge amount of money for this 1 day event! The Culture Growth Fund payments over £500 totalled £754,669 of which, £160,000 went to pay for the expensively priced Boxpark, and Dance Umbrella (no we hadn’t heard of them either) received £29,000 of your taxes. Croydon with Talent Ltd received £20,000 and once again The Oval Tavern received £5,000 for we assume a very expensive round. Details below.
CULTURE GROWTH FUND
Vendor Name | Amount |
Boxpark | £160,000 |
Think Events (London) Ltd | £63,000 |
Croydon Pride Ltd | £54,000 |
A Fairweather – Fairweather Productions | £33,000 |
Dance Umbrella | £29,000 |
BH Live | £26,832 |
Cellar Door Promotions Ltd | £24,550 |
Redacted | £23,075 |
Croydon with Talent Ltd | £20,000 |
London & Partners Ventures Ltd | £20,000 |
Scanners Inc | £20,000 |
Gowling WLG (UK) LLP | £19,044 |
Sam-Culture Ltd | £18,750 |
The Brit School | £17,500 |
Turf Projects_ | £16,768 |
Redacted | £14,235 |
Beeja | £10,000 |
Sound Diplomacy Limited | £10,000 |
31 Percent Wool/Croydonist | £8,000 |
CROYDONITES FESTIVAL OF NEW THEATRE | £7,500 |
Syrus Consultancy CIC | £7,500 |
Good Wolf People Ltd | £7,500 |
Croydon Voluntary Action | £7,500 |
New Addington Peoples Carnival_ | £7,500 |
Drunken Chorus Arts Collective | £7,500 |
London Mozart Players | £7,500 |
Kinetika Bloco Ltd | £7,200 |
White Hut Studios | £7,000 |
Slide Dance | £6,450 |
Play for Progress | £5,830 |
WSP UK Ltd | £5,500 |
Rap Club Productions C.I.C. | £5,445 |
Alasdair Brown | £5,018 |
The Oval Tavern | £5,000 |
Emergency Exit Arts | £5,000 |
Gifted Enterprise C.I.C | £5,000 |
Gye Nyame Development Foundation | £5,000 |
Crystal Palace Festival Group | £4,684 |
Open City Architecture | £4,400 |
Artist Studio Company | £4,063 |
Zoo Co Outreach | £4,000 |
South Norwood Community Festival | £3,750 |
Drum the Bass | £3,750 |
Matthews Yard Croydon Ltd | £3,580 |
Advice Support Knowledge Information | £3,500 |
Cellar Door Promotions Ltd | £2,800 |
Crisis UK | £2,582 |
Subrang Arts | £2,500 |
Tour Design Limited | £1,500 |
FMM Pop Up | £1,450 |
Made in Croydon | £1,293 |
Reaching Higher | £1,243 |
Fergus Ford Photography | £1,100 |
Croydon Town Centre Bid | £1,000 |
Well Versed Ink CIC | £1,000 |
FMM Pop Up | £870 |
Conditions Studio Programme | £828 |
Turf Projects | £780 |
Amplified Theatre | £750 |
Red Quadrant | £550 |
Total | £754,669 |
COMMUNITY WARD BUDGETS
Vendor Name | Amount |
The Chartwell Cancer Trust Ltd | £30,192 |
REDACTED | £18,114 |
LOVE NORBURY | £12,297 |
Purley Youth Project | £7,000 |
Stanley People’s Initiative | £6,736 |
CROYDON BME FORUM (CWB) | £6,000 |
SOUTH NORWOOD COMMUNITY FESTIVAL GROUP | £5,500 |
Sanderstead Residents Association | £5,308 |
SECHC | £5,119 |
We Love SE25 – The South Norwood Town Team | £5,000 |
White Hut Studios (CWB) | £5,000 |
Howard Primary School | £4,941 |
Pinewood Scout Centre | £4,894 |
SCOTS ESTATE NORBURY RESIDENT | £4,500 |
Solid Rock Academy | £4,500 |
CACFO UK (CWB) | £4,000 |
White Hut Studios | £4,000 |
Reaching Higher | £4,000 |
Thornton Heath Business Partnership | £4,000 |
Croydon Commitment | £4,000 |
St John the Divine PCC | £3,973 |
Addiscombe and Shirley Park Residents Association (ASPRA) | £3,500 |
London Mozart Players | £3,500 |
St. Dominic’s Church (CWB) | £3,333 |
Westcotec Ltd | £3,280 |
Westcotec Ltd | £3,280 |
Croydon Bme Forum | £3,050 |
The Upper Norwood Library Trust | £3,000 |
All Saints Kenley | £3,000 |
Greenvale Primary School | £2,802 |
CBNWA (CWB) | £2,750 |
KENLEY MEMORIAL HALL (CWB) | £2,600 |
People for Portland Road | £2,600 |
Willow Learning for Life Ltd Community Interest Company | £2,500 |
Thornton Heath Community Action Team | £2,500 |
CLOCFG | £2,500 |
DCC of St Edmunds Sanderstead | £2,500 |
South Croydon Business Association | £2,500 |
Elite Development FC | £2,500 |
CROYDON VOLUNTARY ACTION (CWB) | £2,500 |
CROYDON SUPPLEMENTARY EDUCATION PROJECT (CWB) | £2,500 |
YuleFest (CWB) | £2,467 |
Bangladeshi British Society Croydon | £2,400 |
Good Wolf People (CWB) | £2,400 |
Croydon Pride (CWB) | £2,320 |
The Shrublands Trust (CWB) | £2,300 |
LONGHEATH GARDENS, LONG LANE & MILFORD GARDENS RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION (CWB) | £2,225 |
LLMRA | £2,149 |
PURLEY BURY TENNIS CLUB (CWB) | £2,000 |
Riddlesdown Tennis Club | £2,000 |
Brighton Road Baptist Church | £2,000 |
Croydon Community Against Trafficking | £2,000 |
Bromley & Croydon Women’s Aid | £2,000 |
CROHAM HURST GOOD NEIGHBOURS | £2,000 |
Ciro Donadio (CWB) | £2,000 |
Thornton Heath Business Partnership (CWB) | £2,000 |
Rotary Club of Purley_ | £2,000 |
Croydon District Scout Council | £2,000 |
Selsdon Residents Association (CWB) | £2,000 |
Redacted | £1,875 |
St Georges Shirley PCC (CWB) | £1,867 |
THE FRIENDS OF ASHBURTON PARK | £1,861 |
The Shrublands Trust | £1,760 |
285 (Coulsdon & Purley) Sqdn ATC | £1,757 |
Africans Unite Against Child Abuse (Afruca) | £1,750 |
Woodcote High School | £1,683 |
West Croydon Methodist Church | £1,555 |
Community Family Worker | £1,500 |
GUIDING HANDS ORGANISATION CIC | £1,500 |
GBS RE CROYDON HLTH SRVS NHST (CWB) | £1,500 |
Forestdale Primary School | £1,500 |
GAGE CIC (CWB) | £1,500 |
Park Run | £1,500 |
St George’s Shirley PCC | £1,500 |
Croydon Indians Group Ltd | £1,500 |
Gye Nyame Development Foundation | £1,482 |
East Croydon Community Organisation | £1,480 |
THE FESTIVE LIGHTING COMPANY(CWB) | £1,463 |
Friends of South Norwood Country Park (CWB) | £1,333 |
Stanley People?s Initiative (CWB) | £1,333 |
Crystal Palace F C Foundation (CWB) | £1,267 |
Friends of Norbury Park | £1,216 |
Community Garden Thornton Heath | £1,200 |
J J Martin (Catering Appliance Superstore) Ltd | £1,180 |
SELSON VILLAGE CLUB (CWB) | £1,158 |
Rising Stars Support CIC | £ 1,083 |
PLAY PLACE INNOV8 CIC (CWB) | £1,020 |
Crystal Palace & Norwood Chamber Commerce | £1,000 |
Nightwatch | £1,000 |
Friends of Lloyd Park Croydon | £1,000 |
Fairchildes Academy Community Trust t/a Fairchildes Primary School | £1,000 |
Surrey Beekeepers Association | £1,000 |
Friends of Stambourne Woods | £1,000 |
Citizen Welfare Organisation Ltd | £1,000 |
All Heads Recognized Ltd | £1,000 |
White Hut Studios (CWB) | £1,000 |
SOUTH NORWOOD AND WOODSIDE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION | £1,000 |
Another Night of Sisterhood CIC | £1,000 |
St Gertrude’s Church | £1,000 |
CROYDON BOROUGH NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH ASSOCIATION | £1,000 |
Whyteleafe F C | £1,000 |
Croydon Food Bank | £1,000 |
Croydon Pet Hospital | £1,000 |
Friends of Littleheath Woods | £1,000 |
CROYDON DISTRICT SCOUT COUNCIL (CWB) | £1,000 |
Kenley Memorial Hall | £1,000 |
7th Purley Scout Group | £1,000 |
Rotary Club of Purley | £1,000 |
Evolve Housing & Support | £1,000 |
Palace for Life Foundation (CWB) | £1,000 |
OLD COULSDON CENTRE FOR THE RETIRED | £950 |
Festivelighting | £950 |
Black Stock Target Communications (CWB) | £900 |
Norbury Green Residents Association (CWB) | £900 |
CHRISTIAN FAMILY CONCERN (CWB) | £836 |
St Aidan’s Catholic Primary School | £800 |
Grangewood Bowling Club | £750 |
Foundation 47 (CWB) | £750 |
New Addington Pathfinders (CWB) | £750 |
New Addington Christmas Lights Appeal | £700 |
ELMWOOD JUNIOR SCHOOL (CWB) | £700 |
Croydon Voluntary Association for the Blind (CWB) | £650 |
African Youth Development Association (CWB) | £605 |
Croydon Hearing Resource | £600 |
Well Being You Ltd | £595 |
Friends of Littleheath Woods (CWB) | £575 |
Mind In Croydon | £575 |
LONDON MOZART PLAYERS (CWB) | £550 |
2nd Selsdon & Addington Scout Group | £531 |
Thornton Heath Community Action Team | £500 |
SOLIDROCK ACADEMY (CWB) | £500 |
The Children and young Peoples Gardening Project (CWB) | £500 |
Imagine Independence (CWB) | £500 |
Winterbourne Nursery & Infant School (CWB) | £500 |
Circle of parents 2 friends (CWB) | £500 |
Another Night of Sisterhood CIC (CWB) | £500 |
Thornton Heath Community Action Team (CWB) | £500 |
Pollards Hill Residents Association (CWB) | £500 |
The Friends of Park Hill Park (CWB) | £500 |
CAGE CIC (CWB) | £500 |
Croydon Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association (CWB) | £500 |
44th Croydon Air Scout Group | £500 |
Croydon Cricket Club of India | £500 |
Waddington Way Residents Association | £500 |
Friends of Grangewood Park | £500 |
St Peters Parochid Church Council | £500 |
WE-STAP | £500 |
Active Living Support CIC | £500 |
Pinspired Ltd (CWB) | £500 |
Friends of Bradmore Green | £500 |
KAREN JEWITT (CWB) | £500 |
Public Spaces | £347 |
Total | £333,364 |
If you want to know more about the national picture, listen to Harry Fone the Grassroots Campaign Manager of TPA on with Mike Graham on Talk Radio.
Interview with Selsdon and Addington Village Councillor Robert Ward
Robert Ward Councillor for Selsdon and Addington Village, was first returned in local Croydon elections in 2018. He is a former engineer, decision analyst, and project manager. Robert wrote extensively for the now defunct Croydon Citizen, and is now writing for Conservative Home.
Robert thanks for your time.
Tell us a bit about your background.
My father was an electrician and my mother a school secretary. I’m the first in my family to go to university, or even be educated beyond the age of fifteen, thanks to the Butler Education Act of 1944, an expression by the way of One Nation Conservatism that transformed the education of the working class.
My father was a life-long blue-collar Conservative but like many young people, I was more left wing. I went to every political group at university except the Conservatives. I wasn’t committed to any ideology; I was just curious. I got to listen to Harold Wilson, Roy Jenkins and the less well-known Paul Foot of the International Socialists, the forerunner of the Socialist Workers Party.
I started work as a railway signal engineer but job prospects in the UK were poor at the time so I took a job working for a French company in the Middle East. I later joined Shell and an American oil company living and working in many countries, coming back to the UK when my children got older. It was only after I was made redundant that I took a serious look at politics.

“I was frustrated that so much of what I saw in the media was left-wing biased. There was no balance. Conservatives care as much as any, perhaps more, about equality of opportunity, helping the disadvantaged and generally making the world a better place”
We first came to know you as a writer for the Croydon Citizen. How did you get involved, and please tell us a bit about writing for it?
I was frustrated that so much of what I saw in the media was left-wing biased. There was no balance. Conservatives care as much as any, perhaps more, about equality of opportunity, helping the disadvantaged and generally making the world a better place. Yet the material online was all written from a left-wing point of view, advocating left-wing solutions, many of which have failed over and over again but still were being put forward for yet another try, doomed to failure. Working people pay the price.
I wanted to redress that balance and also present reasoned arguments on policies about which I had no preconceived idea and had not made up my mind. Some of my articles were less good than others, partly because I tried to produce something on a regular basis, but I’m very glad I did it. The Croydon Citizen, and Tom Black in particular, were very helpful.
We certainly feel Croydon misses the Citizen. What do you think is the future for local journalism here in Croydon?
I agree. This is a tough question. Journalism costs money and people don’t want to pay, and there is only so much advertising revenue. The Croydon Citizen gave it as good a try as it was possible to do and it didn’t work. People think more globally and seem to follow celebrities in large numbers via social media. Political discussion is a minority pursuit especially given the continuing left-wing media bias even though the majority of the population does not share that view. I am not optimistic.

You also set up the Croydon Debate Club. How did that come about?
Although the Croydon Citizen was a great way to present a different message, I thought that constructive face to face discussion could be stimulating and rewarding and that was equally missing. I therefore set up the Debate Club. I tried different venues and formats. The audience varied from maybe ten people to more than fifty. A celebrity speaker at a central Croydon location on a mid-week evening was the most successful. Getting a good speaker and finding an interesting subject was the challenge.
You had a famous meeting where Gavin Barwell spoke, and there were disturbances outside. Do you have any memories from that event?
That was an interesting evening. I remember you came along and were a great help, for which thank you again (Editor’s Note: Mike Swadling of this parish was accosted by and argued with a couple of thugs who tried to shutdown the meeting). Gavin was obviously a big draw, but up until that point the Debate Club had not attracted any extremists. I used Eventbrite to control attendance and I immediately saw with this meeting that there were some different names and a suspicious pattern of booking. I did a bit of internet research and found that both the far left and the far right had booked tickets, and not just one or two.
I decided to withdraw their tickets and did so with what I thought was a reasonably polite email. Both responded with abuse. I asked the local police to patrol the area on the day. Some protestors showed up. I think they were anarchists. Gavin and the audience all took it in their stride, although I didn’t get to participate as well as I would have liked because I was concerned about getting Gavin safely in and out of the meeting. Good fun in hindsight, but rather stressful on the day.
“My vision is to see more local people working in local jobs and shopping in their local High Street. The long-term disruption of central Croydon, whether Westfield does or does not happen, is an opportunity for Selsdon”
You are now a councillor for Selsdon and Addington Village. What are the major challenges or opportunities for your ward?
I am very fortunate to have been elected to represent Selsdon and Addington Village. It is a strong community with great assets. The green spaces and the High Street are the most obvious. The opportunity is to strengthen what is already there and build connections between groups to enable coherent action. Croydon Council wants every area of Croydon to have a Community Plan and I think that is exactly right. I have been pushing this forward as fast as I can. It will be the basis of what we do going forward. My vision is to see more local people working in local jobs and shopping in their local High Street. The long-term disruption of central Croydon, whether Westfield does or does not happen, is an opportunity for Selsdon.
You live tweet from Council meetings and sometimes seem less than impressed. How do you find the chamber?
I was never very impressed with Council meetings as an outsider. My opinion hasn’t changed, and now I have to sit through it all. Councillors are not happy either so there has been a recent review of governance. This won’t be a game-changer but it will I think be an improvement.
“Say it softly but my biggest surprise was that a good number of the Labour Councillors are decent intelligent people who want similar things to me, albeit via a different route”
Has anything surprised you since becoming a councillor?
Say it softly but my biggest surprise was that a good number of the Labour Councillors are decent intelligent people who want similar things to me, albeit via a different route. The committee that I chair is genuinely cross-party. We all want the best for Croydon’s children and are determined to do all we can to achieve that.

“I am concerned that it will just be used by Labour and others to give some pseudo-legitimacy for their usual complaining about the government whilst they themselves do little or nothing”
You have written for Conservative Home about Climate Change and the council’s committee. What do you think of the committee and what as a country we should be doing on climate change?
Climate change is the big issue of our time. I have been relatively quiet about it because I don’t like to express an opinion on a complex subject till I have acquired a decent level of knowledge. I’ve been working on that on and off for close to a year and I am now confident enough to express an opinion. I expect to write again on the subject, along with others.
The UK government has taken a leading role internationally, something for which it does not get enough credit. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, the issue has been hijacked by the usual far left suspects as a trojan horse for their anti-capitalist ambitions. Locally I am supportive of real action by the Council to make a measurable difference, but the Labour Council has set up a group that is unrepresentative of public opinion. I am concerned that it will just be used by Labour and others to give some pseudo-legitimacy for their usual complaining about the government whilst they themselves do little or nothing to make a difference on the Council’s carbon emissions.
“I believe constructive and robust dialogue leads to improved understanding and better solutions. Suppressing free speech hurts us all”
Writing at a time of Coronavirus it’s difficult to see ahead but what would you like to see from the new Government over the next few years?
We need to get through the pandemic and come out the other side positively. Right now we have an invisible enemy to fight. Economy and other matters are rightly taking a back seat. But we are building up an even bigger debt mountain than we had already. Who knows where the economy might go? The government needs to lead us in bouncing back. I think Boris is the man to do that. He has done a great job so far and I think that will continue.
Brexit must be delivered. I thought that on balance Brexit was the right choice but was not dogmatic. I thought we would be fine whether we stayed in or left, although I had been concerned on the direction the EU was taking for some years. Once the decision was taken then it had to be delivered. I was disappointed that some MPs did all they could to prevent it. I think we will see the upside quite soon if the government takes advantage of the opportunity.
I would particularly like the tide to be turned on the erosion of free speech. No platforming, especially at universities, is very concerning. As we have already talked about, I believe constructive and robust dialogue leads to improved understanding and better solutions. Suppressing free speech hurts us all.
Robert can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/moguloilman

Executive Pay at Croydon Council
With budgets tight, and a constant demand for new and improved services, council spending is always under pressure.
Following successful events held with the TaxPayers’ Alliance we have written to the leaders with responsibility for Croydon of the Labour, Conservative, The Brexit, Polish Pride, Christian Alliance, Unity, Democrats and Veterans, Libertarian, Foundation, UKIP, and Liberal Democratic Parties. Asking them you to support our campaign to support local taxpayers, and keep control of executive pay at Croydon Council.
In our campaign supported by local residents we have asked that they agree to our proposal that in future no newly appointed council employee will earn more than the Prime Minister. Out letter to the parties is available here:
The responses in support of our proposal are below, for the others we await their responses and hope they choose to support the taxpayers of Croydon.
Thank-you all for your support for the hardworking families of Croydon.
Support our campaign for sensible Town Hall salaries – TPA in Selsdon
Croydon Council has been a calamity in recent years, but even more shocking we pay a king’s ransom for senior staff that often hinder rather than help the front line. In Selsdon we were asking people to sign an open letter to the leaders of all political parties in Croydon, asking them to agree in future that no newly appointed council employee will earn more than the Prime Minister.
Further details in our Press Release.
Read our letter at https://croydonconstitutionalists.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/TPA_Letter2Parties_V2.pdf
Many have already signed, email us at [email protected] to add your name to our letter.
People who have already signed are:
- Peter Staveley. Davidson Road, Croydon.
- Nicholas Mane. Chepstow Road, Croydon
- David Hooper. Old Lodge Lane, Purley.
- Philip Sheppard. Briar Avenue, Norbury.
- David Hollands. Honister Heights, Purley.
- Sheryl Hollands. Honister Heights, Purley.
- Michael Swadling. Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon.
- Daniel Heaton. Eden Road, Croydon.
- Samantha Hall. Coulsdon.
- Ian Stuart. Elmfield Way, Selsdon.
- Miranda Beard. Croham Valley Road, South Croydon.
- Sandra Kennedy. Croham Park Avenue, South Croydon.
- Karen Barnes. Birdwood Close, Selsdon.
- Mike Cubitt. Pilgrims Way, South Croydon.
- Crispin Williams. Fullers Wood, Croydon.



Press Release – CROYDON CONSTITUTIONALISTS TEAM UP WITH TAXPAYERS’ ALLIANCE TO SHINE A LIGHT ON WASTEFUL COUNCIL SPENDING
TPA Town Hall Rich List reveals massive 6 figure salaries paid to fat cats at Croydon council.
Despite a bumper salary of £212,000 for the Chief Executive we still have an ’Inadequate’ Children’s Services department, a Westfield Shopping centre development going nowhere and ongoing bin collection problems in Croydon.
Croydon Council has been a calamity in recent years, but even more shocking we pay a king’s ransom for senior staff that often hinder rather than help the front line.
That’s not just our view that’s the feedback we’ve had from the two Road Shows the TaxPayers’ Alliance held in Croydon (https://croydonconstitutionalists.uk/the-taxpayers-alliance-town-hall-rich-list-roadshow-croydon/) and Addiscombe (https://croydonconstitutionalists.uk/the-taxpayers-alliance-town-hall-rich-list-roadshow-in-addiscombe-saturday-13th-july/). So overwhelmed by the feedback the TaxPayers’ Alliance are holding a third stall in the borough. This time in Selsdon on Saturday 7th September, between 10:30am and 1pm.
“Many locals are outraged that council bosses are receiving six-figure pay packets whilst front line services are in disarray. Council tax rose by four per cent last year and many will wonder where taxpayers’ money has gone. Spending on council fat cats needs to be brought under control immediately.”
Harry Fone the TaxPayers’ Alliance’s Grassroots Campaign Manager.
In Selsdon we will be asking people to sign an open letter to the leaders of all political parties in Croydon, asking them to agree in future that no newly appointed council employee will earn more than the Prime Minister. We have made contracts with those already in post, but surely we can all agree, with all its challenges running Croydon shouldn’t pay more than running Britain.
Members of the Croydon Constitutionalists and TaxPayers’ Alliance’s staff will be available for interviews and photo ops on the day.”
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Michael Swadling or email at [email protected].
The TaxPayers’ Alliance Town Hall Rich List Roadshow in Addiscombe – Saturday 13th July.
Croydon Council taxpayers were rightly surprised that 19 staff in the council are paid over £100,000, especially when compared to the service we receive.
We spread the word at The TaxPayers’ Alliance Town Hall Rich List Roadshow in Addiscombe on Saturday 13th July. Photos and Video from the day below.





