With local elections across here in Croydon in May, we speak with Jon Brotherhood, Reform UK candidate for Selsdon Vale & Forestdale.
“Like many residents, I have invested heavily in my home and remain deeply invested in the future of Croydon”
Can you introduce yourself to our readers, and tell us what made you decide to run?
A warm welcome and thank you for taking the time to read this.
I was born in Croydon in 1975 and have lived and worked in Croydon and London all my life. Over the years, I have witnessed significant changes to our town — from the rise of HMOs, high-density developments, and temporary accommodation, to shifts in how our neighbourhoods feel and function. Like many residents, I have invested heavily in my home and remain deeply invested in the future of Croydon.
By background, I was fortunate to work as a professional chorister, including with the Royal School of Church Music under Martin Howe. Today, I hold senior roles managing global positions for technology companies, giving me experience of how communities, businesses, and governments succeed — and where they fall short — across different countries and cultures.
“I am standing because I care deeply about this town and the people who live here. I hope I can count on your support”
What do you see as the big issues for Croydon and if elected what would you hope to champion?
It is with genuine concern that I feel our great nation has slipped behind many others in recent years. My family roots and my entire life in Croydon have shaped a strong belief in standing up for what is right, protecting our communities, and planning responsibly for the future.
I am standing because I care deeply about this town and the people who live here. I hope I can count on your support — and that together, we can stand up for Croydon.
How can people find out more or get involved in the campaign?
With local elections here in Croydon in May, we speak with Sujan Mukhiya, Reform UK candidate for Fairfield.
“I believe Croydon’s future depends on practical leadership, financial responsibility, and restoring trust”
Can you introduce yourself to our readers, and tell us what made you decide to run?
I am standing for Reform UK because I believe Croydon’s future depends on practical leadership, financial responsibility, and restoring trust in local government.
Having lived in the borough for many years, I’ve seen first-hand the challenges residents face — from high council tax to declining public services — and I want to be part of the solution. My goal is to ensure that every pound spent by the council delivers real value to our community.
Professionally, I work in technology and data-driven problem-solving, where clarity, accountability, and results matter. These are values I want to bring into local decision-making. I am committed to cutting waste, improving service delivery, and championing a more transparent, resident-focused council. Croydon deserves strong, competent representation, and I want to use my experience and determination to deliver meaningful improvements for Fairfield and our wider community.
“I am committed to cutting waste, improving service delivery, and championing a more transparent, resident-focused council”
How can people find out more or get involved in the campaign?
With local elections across here in Croydon in May, we speak with Zachary Stiling, Reform UK candidate for South Norwood.
“I became actively involved in politics thanks to lockdown. I was appalled by the government’s sweeping attack on civil liberties and what amounted to the psychological abuse of dissenters”
Can you introduce yourself to our readers, and tell us what made you decide to run?
I have lived in Croydon all my life – 28 years – which I think makes me too young to remember a time when it was a beautiful and flourishing town; nevertheless, I hold it in affectionate regard as my home. I became actively involved in politics thanks to lockdown. I was appalled by the government’s sweeping attack on civil liberties and what amounted to the psychological abuse of dissenters, and my conscience made me contest the 2021 Kenley by-election on an anti-lockdown platform. I didn’t win, of course, but it was important to me that somebody stood to offer a choice to the voters who felt badly let down by the four main parties.
Outside of politics, I have been self-employed as a writer since leaving school. I balanced my writing career with shelf-stacking in a supermarket for five years before I was finally able to become self-employed full-time. I am personally involved with the preservation of vintage cars and bicycles, and belong to a number of groups involved with the preservation of historic buildings. Purely as a dilettante, I have an interest in antiques, fine art, literature and music – everything from the Baroque to the blues. My favourite book is Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier.
I have decided to run for election as a councillor with Reform because I believe Croydon has been badly let down by year upon year of mismanagement by the Conservatives and Labour. For most of my life, Croydon has been almost a synonym for urban decay, but it is now at the point where, if you go into the town centre, you are very likely to witness some kind of antisocial behaviour. I have seen people lying unconscious on the floor of Popeyes where they have obviously lost a fight; I am sick of being bothered by persistent or aggressive beggars on night buses and outside East Croydon station.
Furthermore, I am determined to reverse the uglification of Croydon which, as yet, shows no signs of abating. It seems as if every new building to have been erected in recent years is bigger and uglier than the one before it. Last year, Shirley lost one of its few Georgian houses (the Swiss Lodge on Shirley Church Road), and I shudder to think what will replace it. Meanwhile, fifteen years after the riots which resulted in the destruction of the House of Reeves, there is nothing but waste ground where the fine Edwardian building once stood. Whenever I am standing on the platform at East Croydon station, I think to myself, “Here, there is no beautiful thing,” and I hope readers will agree that that is a profoundly depressing thought. What does it say for a town that it has the power to depress simply upon sight?
Order, beauty, tranquillity and cleanliness – Croydon Council seems to have forgotten what these words mean, never mind why they matter. But I am a civilised man, and Croydon needs a civilised touch.
“we need to make our public amenities truly public once more, and scrap the idiotic and unnecessary pre-booking policies so that they can be enjoyed by everyone”
You’re the prospective candidate for South Norwood ward, what are the major concerns in the area?
Strangely enough, the first concern many people express is to do with crime, but the council can do little to address that since the only body with real crime prevention and law enforcement powers is the Metropolitan Police. However, it is to be hoped that by improving the quality of the area, and the quality of life of its inhabitants, the crime rate may be induced to fall.
The second greatest concern pertains to the loss of local assets and amenities. This is particularly pertinent given that Croydon Council recently closed four of its libraries in 2024, and did away with an entire floor of the main library at the Town Hall. Fortunately, South Norwood library remains open and, as a bibliophile, I am committed to seeing that it remains so. Unfortunately, where damage has already been done is in the effective privatisation of Croydon’s leisure facilities by outsourcing their management to Greenwich Leisure Ltd. (operating under the brand name Better), which describes itself as “a charitable social enterprise.” If you are older than ten, you will have happy memories of being able to turn up at the local swimming pool, pay a nominal fee for a wristband, and enjoy a good hour of swimming lengths or splashing about. Now, with GLL in charge, don’t you be getting any high and mighty ideas about going swimming when you like – you must first go online to book a slot to swim when, and only when, GLL says you can (and you’ll pay well for the privilege). If, like me, you are self-employed and have to go to work on demand, or have other commitments which require spontaneity, that’s your problem and you can forget about swimming. I only found this out by turning up at one ‘Better’ leisure centre and being promptly sent home. I cannot remember how much the charge was for an hour’s swimming, and I am still none the wiser because I have been on the ‘Better’ website and find it absolutely bewildering.
If tennis is more your thing, worse luck, because council-owned courts which could once be used freely and spontaneously again require online booking and now cost more than £8.00 to access (it was £8.10 as of 2023). A lot of individuals and families in South Norwood and across the borough are struggling to make ends meet, and even those who would think of themselves as comfortably middle-class are feeling the effects of cost-of-living increases, and have neither the time nor the money to use what ought to be accessible, and in some cases free, services. Once it has been constructed, a tennis court can be left alone without expense for years. The withdrawal of basic amenities has been disgraceful, we need to make our public amenities truly public once more, and scrap the idiotic and unnecessary pre-booking policies so that they can be enjoyed by everyone. It is not surprising people become consumed by depression, when they are deprived of opportunities to enjoy or better themselves.
“On the subject of roads, Reform Croydon is committed to rollout the removal of 20 MPH speed limits and return to a 30 MPH default speed limit”
More widely what do you see as the big issues for Croydon and if elected what would you hope to champion?
In addition to my public amenities campaign as outlined above, I have several plans in mind for Croydon which I hope will remedy at least some of its many other problems. I will run through them now in no particular order.
Croydon Council works with no fewer than nine churches and charities which provide the homeless with free food and clothing, sleeping bags and temporary shelter, plus referrals to the Job Centre and mental health services. In addition, it works with the Fitze Millennium Centre in Upper Norwood which provides purpose-built accommodation consisting of studio flats and recreational facilities for up to eighty homeless young people while preparing them for the world of work and independent living. We need to move those begging from the streets to these facilities.
As far as fly-tipping is concerned, I want to see the council respond to all complaints of fly-tipping within one week.
To address the matter of civic beauty, my first pledge is the most straightforward. There will be no further building on Green Belt land, and I would desire even to create new areas of Green Belt to atone for some of those lost in recent years. To preserve Croydon’s fine old buildings and protect our heritage, I would like to see a blanket ban on the demolition of all buildings predating WW1 unless there was an absolutely compelling reason why they could not possibly be refurbished or repurposed. As discussed previously, permission for new buildings will only be granted if they exhibit genuine aesthetic merit and respect and sympathy for the surrounding area.
On the subject of roads, Reform Croydon is committed to rollout the removal of 20 MPH speed limits and return to a 30 MPH default speed limit. It is obvious that the council made no effort to consider where accidents occur or what the reasons for them are, and consequently motorists are forced to slither like a snail along roads where 30 or even 40mph would be a safe maximum.
In addition to being a motorist and car enthusiast, I am also a keen cyclist, a pedestrian and a voluntary public transport user, so I flatter myself that I have the advantage of understanding transport requirements from many perspectives.
A few years ago, I wrote a piece decrying the council’s decision to rip up some of its bus shelters and spend £6.8 million installing dystopian-sounding Smart shelters, with cameras feeding information somewhere viâ a permanent internet connection. Mercifully, these never materialised, because the council contracted them to a nine-month-old American tech company with no previous experience of building bus shelters. Rural parts of the Borough of Bromley have attractive wooden bus shelters which are far better suited to the rural and suburban æsthetic than the bland, textureless and generic style seen across the entirety of Croydon. Some large towns, such as Brighton, still retain attractive streamlined Art Déco shelters which would look wonderful in Croydon town centre and the northern parts of the borough. It doesn’t have to be hard to make a place look nice – it just requires somebody who cares.
How can people find out more or get involved in the campaign?
With local elections here in Croydon in May, we speak with Jamie Ahinasi-Blondy, Reform UK candidate for Thornton Heath.
“My mission is simple: to bring genuine common-sense and professional integrity back to our local governance”
Can you introduce yourself to our readers, and tell us what made you decide to run?
I am Jamie Ahinasi-Blondy, and I am honoured to stand as a Reform UK Council Candidate for Thornton Heath ward.
My mission is simple: to bring genuine common-sense and professional integrity back to our local governance. My commitment to this borough is profound, built on years of living and serving here, particularly in the communities stretching from Thornton Heath to Norwood Junction.
“My service through the church food bank during the pandemic showed me the resilience of our community but also highlighted the urgent need for policies that address everyday struggles”
What do you see as the big issues for Croydon and if elected what would you hope to champion?
As I look at the state of our Council, I am driven by this conviction:
“I stand confirmed as the Reform UK Council Candidate because I believe our community deserves strong, practical representation that puts local people first. Having lived in Croydon for nine years, I have seen both the strengths of our borough and the areas where residents feel let down. My service through the church food bank during the pandemic showed me the resilience of our community but also highlighted the urgent need for policies that address everyday struggles such as cost of living, housing, and local services. Reform UK’s focus on accountability, fairness, and common-sense solutions resonates with my own values. I want to ensure that Croydon residents have a voice that challenges waste, prioritises local needs, and works to restore trust in local government. My commitment is to stand up for ordinary people, to listen carefully, and to act decisively on the issues that matter most to our community.”
That commitment to decisive action is backed by professional competence. For years, I have worked as a Senior Risk Assurance Manager, holding high-level public sector programmes to account. I am a certified expert in governance and fiscal integrity. When I look at the Council’s finances, I don’t see a political problem; I see an assurance failure that my skills are placed to fix.
I will bring that rigour to the Council chamber. I will use my expertise as a Data Analyst to expose waste and drive process optimisation, ensuring we maximise service delivery while reducing the burden on our local ratepayers. My job will be to cut the bureaucracy and ensure that every pound spent on local services —from bin collections to tackling anti-social behaviour—is justified and effective.
I have proven my ability to mobilise the community through my work with the Food Bank and as a Local Advocacy Coordinator. Now, I am asking for your support to take that fight for accountability directly to the Council. We deserve a Council that listens, is financially responsible, and puts local needs first.
Let us reform Croydon together.
How can people find out more or get involved in the campaign?
With local elections across here in Croydon in May, we speak with Máté Andrási, Reform UK candidate for South Croydon.
“I am a legal immigrant, a classical liberal, and a patriot by choice who believes that Britain’s strength lies in its values”
Can you introduce yourself to our readers, and tell us what made you decide to run?
I am a legal immigrant, a classical liberal, and a patriot by choice who believes that Britain’s strength lies in its values, not its identity politics. My career in the technology sector has been dedicated to one thing: efficiency. As an Agile Programme Manager and practitioner of Lean Six Sigma, I specialise in optimising complex systems and ruthlessly eliminating waste.
I apply that same analytical rigour to politics. In Reform, I see a movement demanding common sense. They are the only party brave enough to judge individuals by the content of their character rather than the quotas they fill. My own journey to this country was driven by a respect for British law and liberty—ideals that are currently threatened by weak borders, wasteful spending, and a policing system afraid to enforce order.
“A smaller, sharper council that lives within its means: audit every pound, publish every contract, and put Croydon taxpayers first again”
What do you see as the big issues for Croydon and if elected what would you hope to champion?
Croydon is £1.4 billion in the red and still paying £86 million a year just to service the debt left by decades of failure. Enough. We will freeze all non-essential consulting and agency spend – no more £1.5 million+ vanity contracts – and redirect every saved pound into debt reduction and frontline services.
A smaller, sharper council that lives within its means: audit every pound, publish every contract, and put Croydon taxpayers first again. Not by raising your taxes and issuing more penalties but by stopping waste.
How can people find out more or get involved in the campaign?
With local elections here in Croydon in May, we speak with Vanessa Calou, Reform UK candidate for Addiscombe East.
“I’m standing because I believe in putting Britain and our communities first and in giving residents a real say in decisions that affect their lives”
Can you introduce yourself to our readers, and tell us what made you decide to run?
I’m Vanessa Calou, Reform UK’s candidate for Addiscombe East. I am a proud British Chagossian, born in exile after my family were forcibly removed from the Chagos Islands. I’ve lived in Croydon for over 20 years, raised two children (both born at Mayday Hospital) and have long been active locally. My background includes youth counselling and leadership work overseas, a Diploma in Travel & Tourism, more than 15 years at Gatwick as a Passenger Service Agent and union representative, and volunteer service as a BIOT citizen representative and with Citizens Advice. I’m standing to deliver accountable, community-first leadership for the place I call home.
I’m standing because I believe in putting Britain and our communities first and in giving residents a real say in decisions that affect their lives. Reform’s commitment to secure our borders, protect sovereignty and defend our Overseas Territories aligns with my campaign for recognition and self-determination for the British Chagossian community. Having seen how policy affects families, I want to restore integrity, stop waste, and make the council work for ordinary people.
“People want reliable frontline services and safer, cleaner streets”
You’re the prospective candidate for Addiscombe East ward, what are the major concerns in the area?
Residents tell me their top concerns are: the housing crisis and poor-quality housing or delays in repairs; the risk of homelessness for vulnerable families; persistent fly-tipping, litter and poorly maintained public spaces; antisocial behaviour and the need for more visible, effective local policing; parking and local traffic management; and lack of investment in youth services and local schools. People want reliable frontline services and safer, cleaner streets.
More widely what do you see as the big issues for Croydon and if elected what would you hope to champion?
Croydon faces a broken model of council spending and risky property deals, rising bills without better services, a housing crisis, and patchy delivery on basic street maintenance and public safety. If elected I will push for: a full efficiency review of council spending; no council tax rises above inflation until residents see value for money; prioritising decent, safe housing and preventing homelessness; tackling fly-tipping and antisocial behaviour; and stronger investment in education and youth wellbeing. I will also champion recognition and self-determination for the British Chagossian community and ensure local decisions are transparent and accountable.
“Croydon faces a broken model of council spending and risky property deals, rising bills without better services, a housing crisis…..”
How can people find out more or get involved in the campaign?
Visit the Reform UK Croydon Facebook page on the Reform Croydon UK website. Come to our street stalls and surgeries or get in touch through the campaign contact details on our site. You can help by volunteering to deliver leaflets, door-knock, phone bank, host a small meeting, or simply spread the word locally. If you have a local issue you want me to raise, please get in touch via chair.croydon@reformuk.com — I’m listening and ready to help. You can find out more in our booklet ‘CROYDON NEEDS REFORM – OUR CONTRACT WITH YOU’.
With local elections here in Croydon in May, we speak with Nick Collins, Reform UK candidate for Old Coulsdon.
“I have seen how countries in Asia have overtaken Europe and Britain by having sensible policies run by professionals and how the opposite has happened in Britain”
Can you introduce yourself to our readers, and tell us what made you decide to run?
With a MA in history from the University of Cambridge, I spent a 40 career in the shipping industry and almost as many as a resident of the Croydon area. Working in the City on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. I have also worked extensively overseas in Tokyo for over 3 years, in Singapore as CEO for over 3 years and in Dubai as a COO for over 5 years all as bases to do business around the world. Advising large multinational companies on global shipping strategy and I have been involved in thousands of deals.
I have seen how countries in Asia have overtaken Europe and Britain by having sensible policies run by professionals and how the opposite has happened in Britain. I will bring commercial rigour into local government so taxpayer money is not wasted and more can be retained by voters/taxpayers – the way more prosperous societies are created.
I have also authored books on how shipping works and after retirement a wrote a three volume history of maritime trade, the last of which The Ascent of Maritime Trade 1700-2025 (due out in April 2026) includes a chapter analysing the decline of maritime Britain and hence Britain itself – described by a peer reviewer as ‘an essential text for today’. For more on my books and social media output please go to maritimetradehistory.com.
“I will bring commercial rigour into local government so taxpayer money is not wasted and more can be retained by voters/taxpayers”
How can people find out more or get involved in the campaign?
With local elections here in Croydon in May, we speak with Neil Watson, Reform UK candidate for New Addington North.
“I intend to foster a secure, confident, and stable future for our children by tackling head-on the problems we face”
Can you introduce yourself to our readers, and tell us what made you decide to run?
I am standing for Reform in New Addington North for Croydon Council because we can bring much-needed change not only to our borough, but to the country as a whole.
My career to date has involved policing, security, and education (as well as running businesses), so I can see how various elements need to flourish if our nation is to prosper.
I intend to foster a secure, confident, and stable future for our children by tackling head-on the problems we face in a decisive but fair manner.
How can people find out more or get involved in the campaign?
With local elections here in Croydon in May, we speak with Christine Bigrigg, Reform UK candidate for Broad Green.
“we now have situation where the Borough has been bankrupted leaving the town’s services poorly run with shops closing down and crime moving in”
Can you introduce yourself to our readers, and tell us what made you decide to run?
I was born in Croydon and lived in a prefab in New Addington after the last War and watched it grow and evolve from a cold and desolate place with no roads or pavements and just 4 or 5 shops, into a thriving community, Croydon grew into a town to be proud of and almost made City status.
Unfortunately, things have changed for the worst and because of the appalling way that the 2 main parties have run the town for the last couple of decades we now have situation where the Borough has been bankrupted leaving the town’s services poorly run with shops closing down and crime moving in.
“Reform are brave and stand for freedom from the downward spiral of political and moral decline currently thriving in the UK”
What do you see as the big issues for Croydon and if elected what would you hope to champion?
I am frustrated with the daily news of illegal migration, along with violence, crime and a government who appears to lack the political will to deal with situation, similar things are happening to towns and cities all over our country.
Reform are brave and stand for freedom from the downward spiral of political and moral decline currently thriving in the UK. We may not have all the answers but I know we will give it a damn good try to reverse the decline and put us back on a footing where we can work towards making our country a place to be proud of once again.
How can people find out more or get involved in the campaign?
With local elections here in Croydon in May, we speak with Paula Bucur, Reform UK candidate for Shirley South.
“I joined Reform because I share their goals and their commitment to improving the local business environment, supporting small businesses, and standing up for the working class”
Can you introduce yourself to our readers, and tell us what made you decide to run?
My name is Paula, and I have been part of the Croydon community since 2017, when I took over a local pub in Addiscombe. I joined Reform because I share their goals and their commitment to improving the local business environment, supporting small businesses, and standing up for the working class.
The hospitality sector is being hit hard. Rising taxes and soaring bills have created a volatile and unpredictable business climate, making it increasingly difficult for us to do our jobs. It’s easy to point out everything that’s going wrong, but I believe the time has come for us to take action. By addressing issues at a local level, we can help drive positive change across the country as a whole.
I am interested in becoming a local councillor because this role would give me the opportunity to work directly with the people and organisations who can help us tackle community challenges and build a better environment for everyone living in Croydon.
I look forward to representing the community of Shirley South, and I am confident that, together, we can make Croydon a better place and bring more people on board who believe in our goals and what we stand for.
“It’s easy to point out everything that’s going wrong, but I believe the time has come for us to take action”
How can people find out more or get involved in the campaign?
