The Labour Party in Croydon don’t like a democratically elected mayor. They had a vote.
In the not too distant past, they were happy with Tony Newman as leader of the council. They emphasised their happiness in a vote of confidence. Until they weren’t. After they became unhappy with Tony Newman, they became happy with Hamida Ali. They had votes on all of those.
There, in a nutshell, is the whole point. They had a vote. You didn’t.
Having made up their mind that they don’t like a democratically elected mayor, as is the way with Labour, they then had to figure out why they didn’t like it. More difficult than usual because in other parts of the UK they do like it.
The challenge seems so far to have been too much for them. Having decided this was all a plot by Tory nimbies to prevent houses being built in the South of the borough, their attack line was that the democratically elected mayor had no influence on planning. The latest claim is that the mayor does have influence on planning and would use the powers that a few weeks before a mayor apparently didn’t have to build houses in the North of the borough. You’ve got to admire their ability to perform the mental gymnastics to do all this whilst keeping a straight face.
If you see through that, their Plan B is that an elected mayor is an unnecessary expense. From a party that squandered tens of millions of Croydon residents’ money and increased the council’s debts, or put another way, your debts, by hundreds of millions, that may seem a bit rich. That’s because it is.
More politicians is not normally something I would be in favour of, despite me now being one. Because contrary to popular opinion, politicians are responsible for doing things, making decisions that affect the lives of all the residents of Croydon. As we have seen with Labour’s recent debacle in Croydon, incompetent politicians means we all pay. Grass is not cut, bins are not collected, streets are not cleaned, the most vulnerable residents are put at risk. This matters.
Which is why I am in favour of a democratically elected mayor. It is a better form of local government which will deliver better services for the people of Croydon. What is more, if that mayor fails to deliver better services, then the residents of Croydon have an option. Every four years they can kick the rascal out.