New Councillor Ola Kolade reflects on the 17th May Cabinet Meeting
There’s another Cabinet meeting tonight and I hope it’s different from the last one I attended. Prior to becoming a Councillor, I had attended several Croydon Council meetings and observed a dismissive approach from the Labour administration towards residents and the Conservative opposition. I recall a question which I asked during a public questions session in 2018 raising residents’ concerns, which was rudely dismissed as ‘electioneering’ as the Labour cabinet member refused to make any effort to understand and deal with the pertinent issue.
I was therefore very surprised to see the Labour administration give a platform to a resident at the 17th May Cabinet Meeting. What wasn’t a surprise was what Miss Fransoy Hewitt so bravely expressed. We know there are many more residents like Fransoy and without the national media coverage of the appalling housing conditions of her Regina Road flat, her voice would not have been heard.
What struck a note with me in particular was her challenge to a room full of senior Labour Councillors on how this issue was ignored in spite of multiple attempts to reach out to them and one of her parting words was ‘fix up, if this is not the job for you – QUIT’.
Her passion and frustration very much resonated with me as over the years I have spoken with hundreds of Croydon residents across the borough and the one thing that residents say repeatedly is that the Labour Council doesn’t listen and it's time for a change.
The appalling situation that Fransoy and her neighbours were left to endure for so long, thrown into the spotlight by ITV News, has exposed the systemic problems and opaque culture that has been built up over the years of this Labour Council. They have failed to listen and ignored community groups, residents associations and families right across Croydon. Yet it is clear that not one of the Labour councillors who have had responsibility for Housing over the past few years is willing to take responsibility for their utter failures to look after residents.
Community engagement and collaboration should be at the heart of responsible local governance with a culture of encouraging scrutiny – but this has not been the Croydon Labour way of doing things. Their approach has been that they knew best and had no interest in anyone else’s views.
The Regina Road neglect, Council Bankruptcy, Brick by Brick collapse, Fairfield Halls overspend, Westfield development failure, are all examples of how this Labour administration has failed to incorporate key stakeholders in its decision making process, resulting in leadership that lacks genuine accountability and discretionary action.
At the Cabinet Meeting, we heard in brutal detail the significant negative impact on the physical, emotional and mental health of young people and families across the borough, which such a culture has caused.
And despite all of this, they still aren’t prepared to listen, with the Labour administration refusing to allow more than one question from the Conservative councilors on each agenda item.
The recent by-elections results give an indication that residents are now willing to express their dissatisfaction and mistrust in Croydon Labour. Given the myriad of failures over the past 7 years, I strongly believe Croydon residents deserve to be listened to and that Croydon needs a financially responsible administration running our Town Hall. That’s why I will be campaigning and encouraging residents to Vote Conservative in May 2022.